Channel occupancy time (cot)-structure indication

ABSTRACT

Wireless communications systems and methods related to communicating a structure of a channel occupancy time (COT) are provided. A first wireless communication device communicates with a second wireless communication device, a first indicator indicating at least one of a subband configuration for a COT or a duration of the COT. The first wireless communication device communicates with the second wireless communication device during the COT, a first communication signal based on at least one of the subband configuration for the COT or the duration of the COT. The first wireless communication device communicates with the second wireless communication device during the COT, a second indicator indicating an update for at least one of the subband configuration for the COT or the duration of the COT. Additionally, the first wireless communication device communicates with the second wireless communication device during the COT, a second communication signal based on the update.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS & PRIORITY CLAIM

The present application claims priority to and the benefit of the IndianProvisional Patent Application No. 201941033013 filed Aug. 15, 2019,which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety as if fullyset forth below and for all applicable purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates to wireless communication systems, and moreparticularly to a channel occupancy time (COT)-structure indication.

INTRODUCTION

Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide varioustypes of communication content such as voice, video, packet data,messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable ofsupporting communication with multiple users by sharing the availablesystem resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). A wirelessmultiple-access communications system may include a number of basestations (BSs), each simultaneously supporting communications formultiple communication devices, which may be otherwise known as userequipment (UE).

To meet the growing demands for expanded mobile broadband connectivity,wireless communication technologies are advancing from the long-termevolution (LTE) technology to a next generation new radio (NR)technology, which may be referred to as 5^(th) Generation (5G). Forexample, NR is designed to provide a lower latency, a higher bandwidthor a higher throughput, and a higher reliability than LTE. NR isdesigned to operate over a wide array of spectrum bands, for example,from low-frequency bands below about 1 gigahertz (GHz) and mid-frequencybands from about 1 GHz to about 6 GHz, to high-frequency bands such asmillimeter wave (mmWave) bands. NR is also designed to operate acrossdifferent spectrum types, from licensed spectrum to unlicensed andshared spectrum. Spectrum sharing enables operators to opportunisticallyaggregate spectrums to dynamically support high-bandwidth services.Spectrum sharing can extend the benefit of NR technologies to operatingentities that may not have access to a licensed spectrum.

One approach to avoiding collisions when communicating in a sharedspectrum or an unlicensed spectrum is to use a listen-before-talk (LBT)procedure to ensure that the shared channel is clear before transmittinga signal in the shared channel. For example, a transmitting node maylisten to the channel to determine whether there are activetransmissions in the channel. When the channel is idle, the transmittingnode may transmit a preamble to reserve a channel occupancy time (COT)in the shared channel and may communicate with a receiving node duringthe COT.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME EXAMPLES

The following summarizes some aspects of the present disclosure toprovide a basic understanding of the discussed technology. This summaryis not an extensive overview of all contemplated features of thedisclosure and is intended neither to identify key or critical elementsof all aspects of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of any orall aspects of the disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present someconcepts of one or more aspects of the disclosure in summary form as aprelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

For example, in an aspect of the disclosure, a method of wirelesscommunication includes communicating, by a first wireless communicationdevice with a second wireless communication device, a first indicatorindicating at least one of a subband configuration for a channeloccupancy time (COT) or a duration of the COT; communicating, by thefirst wireless communication device with the second wirelesscommunication device during the COT, a first communication signal basedon the at least one of the subband configuration for the COT or theduration of the COT; communicating, by the first wireless communicationdevice with the second wireless communication device during the COT, asecond indicator indicating an update for the at least one of thesubband configuration for the COT or the duration of the COT; andcommunicating, by the first wireless communication device with thesecond wireless communication device during the COT, a secondcommunication signal based on the update.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus includes atransceiver configured to: communicate, by a first wirelesscommunication device with a second wireless communication device, afirst indicator indicating at least one of a subband configuration for achannel occupancy time (COT) or a duration of the COT; communicate, bythe first wireless communication device with the second wirelesscommunication device during the COT, a first communication signal basedon the at least one of the subband configuration for the COT or theduration of the COT; communicate, by the first wireless communicationdevice with the second wireless communication device during the COT, asecond indicator indicating an update for the at least one of thesubband configuration for the COT or the duration of the COT; andcommunicate, by the first wireless communication device with the secondwireless communication device during the COT, a second communicationsignal based on the update.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a computer-readable mediumhaving program code recorded thereon, the program code includes code forcausing a first wireless communication device to communicate with asecond wireless communication device, a first indicator indicating atleast one of a subband configuration for a channel occupancy time (COT)or a duration of the COT; code for causing the first wirelesscommunication device to communicate with the second wirelesscommunication device, a first communication signal based on the at leastone of the subband configuration for the COT or the duration of the COT;code for causing the first wireless communication device to communicatewith the second wireless communication device, a second indicatorindicating an update for the at least one of the subband configurationfor the COT or the duration of the COT; and code for causing the firstwireless communication device to communicate with the second wirelesscommunication device, a second communication signal based on the update.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus includes meansfor communicating with a second wireless communication device, a firstindicator indicating at least one of a subband configuration for achannel occupancy time (COT) or a duration of the COT; means forcommunicating with the second wireless communication device during theCOT, a first communication signal based on the at least one of thesubband configuration for the COT or the duration of the COT; means forcommunicating with the second wireless communication device during theCOT, a second indicator indicating an update for the at least one of thesubband configuration for the COT or the duration of the COT; and meansfor communicating with the second wireless communication device duringthe COT, a second communication signal based on the update.

Other aspects, features, and embodiments of the present invention willbecome apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, upon reviewingthe following description of specific, exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures. Whilefeatures of the present invention may be discussed relative to certainembodiments and figures below, all embodiments of the present inventioncan include one or more of the advantageous features discussed herein.In other words, while one or more embodiments may be discussed as havingcertain advantageous features, one or more of such features may also beused in accordance with the various embodiments of the inventiondiscussed herein. In similar fashion, while exemplary embodiments may bediscussed below as device, system, or method embodiments it should beunderstood that such exemplary embodiments can be implemented in variousdevices, systems, and methods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication network according to someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a communication scheme for communicating indicatorsindicating a channel occupancy time (COT) structure according to someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a communication scheme for indicating a subbandconfiguration for a COT according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a communication scheme for indicating a subbandconfiguration for a COT according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a communication method for communicating anuplink (UL) communication signal based on a subband configuration for aCOT according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a communication method for monitoringphysical downlink control channel (PDCCH) based on a subbandconfiguration for a COT according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a communication method for processing aperiodic-channel state information-reference signal (P-CSI-RS) based ona subband configuration for a COT according to some embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates a communication scheme for indicating a duration of aCOT according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates a communication scheme for indicating a duration of aCOT according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates a communication scheme for indicating a duration ofa COT according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of a communication method for transmitting anUL communication signal based on a duration of a COT according to someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an exemplary base station (BS) accordingto some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an exemplary user equipment (UE) accordingto some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram of a communication method according to someembodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below, in connection with theappended drawings, is intended as a description of variousconfigurations and is not intended to represent the only configurationsin which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detaileddescription includes specific details for the purpose of providing athorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will beapparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may bepracticed without these specific details. In some instances, well-knownstructures and components are shown in block diagram form in order toavoid obscuring such concepts.

This disclosure relates generally to wireless communications systems,also referred to as wireless communications networks. In variousembodiments, the techniques and apparatus may be used for wirelesscommunication networks such as code division multiple access (CDMA)networks, time division multiple access (TDMA) networks, frequencydivision multiple access (FDMA) networks, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA)networks, single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, LTE networks, GlobalSystem for Mobile Communications (GSM) networks, 5^(th) Generation (5G)or new radio (NR) networks, as well as other communications networks. Asdescribed herein, the terms “networks” and “systems” may be usedinterchangeably.

An OFDMA network may implement a radio technology such as evolved UTRA(E-UTRA), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11, IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, flash-OFDM and the like. UTRA, E-UTRA,and GSM are part of universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS). Inparticular, long term evolution (LTE) is a release of UMTS that usesE-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, GSM, UMTS and LTE are described in documentsprovided from an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project”(3GPP), and cdma2000 is described in documents from an organizationnamed “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2). These variousradio technologies and standards are known or are being developed. Forexample, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is acollaboration between groups of telecommunications associations thataims to define a globally applicable third generation (3G) mobile phonespecification. 3GPP long term evolution (LTE) is a 3GPP project whichwas aimed at improving the UMTS mobile phone standard. The 3GPP maydefine specifications for the next generation of mobile networks, mobilesystems, and mobile devices. The present disclosure is concerned withthe evolution of wireless technologies from LTE, 4G, 5G, NR, and beyondwith shared access to wireless spectrum between networks using acollection of new and different radio access technologies or radio airinterfaces.

In particular, 5G networks contemplate diverse deployments, diversespectrum, and diverse services and devices that may be implemented usingan OFDM-based unified, air interface. In order to achieve these goals,further enhancements to LTE and LTE-A are considered in addition todevelopment of the new radio technology for 5G NR networks. The 5G NRwill be capable of scaling to provide coverage (1) to a massive Internetof things (IoTs) with an ULtra-high density (e.g., ˜1M nodes/km²),ultra-low complexity (e.g., ˜10s of bits/sec), ultra-low energy (e.g.,˜10+ years of battery life), and deep coverage with the capability toreach challenging locations; (2) including mission critical control withstrong security to safeguard sensitive personal, financial, orclassified information, ultra-high reliability (e.g., ˜99.9999%reliability), ultra-low latency (e.g., ˜1 ms), and users with wideranges of mobility or lack thereof; and (3) with enhanced mobilebroadband including extreme high capacity (e.g., ˜10 Tbps/km²), extremedata rates (e.g., multi-Gbps rate, 100+ Mbps user experienced rates),and deep awareness with advanced discovery and optimizations.

The 5G NR may be implemented to use optimized OFDM-based waveforms withscalable numerology and transmission time interval (TTI); having acommon, flexible framework to efficiently multiplex services andfeatures with a dynamic, low-latency time division duplex(TDD)/frequency division duplex (FDD) design; and with advanced wirelesstechnologies, such as massive multiple input, multiple output (MIMO),robust millimeter wave (mmWave) transmissions, advanced channel coding,and device-centric mobility. Scalability of the numerology in 5G NR,with scaling of subcarrier spacing, may efficiently address operatingdiverse services across diverse spectrum and diverse deployments. Forexample, in various outdoor and macro coverage deployments of less than3 GHz FDD/TDD implementations, subcarrier spacing may occur with 15 kHz,for example over 5, 10, 20 MHz, and the like bandwidth (BW). For othervarious outdoor and small cell coverage deployments of TDD greater than3 GHz, subcarrier spacing may occur with 30 kHz over 80/100 MHz BW. Forother various indoor wideband implementations, using a TDD over theunlicensed portion of the 5 GHz band, the subcarrier spacing may occurwith 60 kHz over a 160 MHz BW. Finally, for various deploymentstransmitting with mmWave components at a TDD of 28 GHz, subcarrierspacing may occur with 120 kHz over a 500 MHz BW.

The scalable numerology of the 5G NR facilitates scalable TTI fordiverse latency and quality of service (QoS) requirements. For example,shorter TTI may be used for low latency and high reliability, whilelonger TTI may be used for higher spectral efficiency. The efficientmultiplexing of long and short TTIs to allow transmissions to start onsymbol boundaries. 5G NR also contemplates a self-contained integratedsubframe design with uplink/downlink scheduling information, data, andacknowledgement in the same subframe. The self-contained integratedsubframe supports communications in unlicensed or contention-basedshared spectrum, adaptive uplink/downlink that may be flexiblyconfigured on a per-cell basis to dynamically switch between uplink anddownlink to meet the current traffic needs.

Various other aspects and features of the disclosure are furtherdescribed below. It should be apparent that the teachings herein may beembodied in a wide variety of forms and that any specific structure,function, or both being disclosed herein is merely representative andnot limiting. Based on the teachings herein one of an ordinary level ofskill in the art should appreciate that an aspect disclosed herein maybe implemented independently of any other aspects and that two or moreof these aspects may be combined in various ways. For example, anapparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using anynumber of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, such an apparatusmay be implemented or such a method may be practiced using otherstructure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition toor other than one or more of the aspects set forth herein. For example,a method may be implemented as part of a system, device, apparatus,and/or as instructions stored on a computer readable medium forexecution on a processor or computer. Furthermore, an aspect maycomprise at least one element of a claim.

Operations in shared or unlicensed spectrum may include DL transmissionsand/or UL transmissions. The BSs and the UEs may be operated by multiplenetwork operating entities sharing resources in the shared or unlicensedfrequency spectrum and may perform a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure(e.g., clear channel assessment (CCA)) prior to communicating todetermine whether the frequency band is available. LBT is a channelaccess scheme that may be used in the unlicensed spectrum. In anexample, a wireless communication device (e.g., the BS or the UE) mayemploy an LBT procedure to reserve a channel occupancy time (COT) in theshared medium for communications.

The present application provides techniques for communicatinginformation on the structure of a COT. In an example, the BS may performLBT in each subband of a plurality of subbands independently and usethose subbands in which the LBT passes. The BS may pre-prepare a COTindicator that indicates the BS's subband usage for the plurality ofsubbands before an LBT passes in a subband. Accordingly, the BS may beunable to prepare and transmit accurate subband usage information in thefirst COT indicator transmitted to the UE. In an example, the first COTindicator may indicate that the BS's subband usage is unknown. The BSmay transmit a second COT indicator to the UE, where the second COTindicator updates the subband usage information indicated in the firstCOT indicator. The second COT indicator may indicate the BS's accuratesubband usage for the plurality of subbands. The UE may communicatecommunication signals based on whether the BS's subband usage is unknownand/or known. In another example, if the COT indicator indicates theremaining duration of the COT in symbols, the bits used to represent theremaining COT duration in the DCI may be large if the remaining COTduration is long. The present disclosure provides techniques forreducing the number of bits when indicating the remaining duration of aCOT. The UE may communicate communication signals based on the remainingCOT duration.

FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication network 100 according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure. The network 100 may be a 5Gnetwork. The network 100 includes a number of base stations (BSs) 105(individually labeled as 105 a, 105 b, 105 c, 105 d, 105 e, and 105 f)and other network entities. A BS 105 may be a station that communicateswith UEs 115 and may also be referred to as an evolved node B (eNB), anext generation eNB (gNB), an access point, and the like. Each BS 105may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In3GPP, the term “cell” can refer to this particular geographic coveragearea of a BS 105 and/or a BS subsystem serving the coverage area,depending on the context in which the term is used.

A BS 105 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell or a smallcell, such as a pico cell or a femto cell, and/or other types of cell. Amacro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g.,several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEswith service subscriptions with the network provider. A small cell, suchas a pico cell, would generally cover a relatively smaller geographicarea and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptionswith the network provider. A small cell, such as a femto cell, wouldalso generally cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home)and, in addition to unrestricted access, may also provide restrictedaccess by UEs having an association with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in aclosed subscriber group (CSG), UEs for users in the home, and the like).A BS for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro BS. A BS for a smallcell may be referred to as a small cell BS, a pico BS, a femto BS or ahome BS. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the BSs 105 d and 105 e may beregular macro BSs, while the BSs 105 a-105 c may be macro BSs enabledwith one of three dimension (3D), full dimension (FD), or massive MIMO.The BSs 105 a-105 c may take advantage of their higher dimension MIMOcapabilities to exploit 3D beamforming in both elevation and azimuthbeamforming to increase coverage and capacity. The BS 105 f may be asmall cell BS which may be a home node or portable access point. A BS105 may support one or multiple (e.g., two, three, four, and the like)cells.

The network 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. Forsynchronous operation, the BSs may have similar frame timing, andtransmissions from different BSs may be approximately aligned in time.For asynchronous operation, the BSs may have different frame timing, andtransmissions from different BSs may not be aligned in time.

The UEs 115 are dispersed throughout the wireless network 100, and eachUE 115 may be stationary or mobile. A UE 115 may also be referred to asa terminal, a mobile station, a subscriber unit, a station, or the like.A UE 115 may be a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), awireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, atablet computer, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless localloop (WLL) station, or the like. In one aspect, a UE 115 may be a devicethat includes a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC). In anotheraspect, a UE may be a device that does not include a UICC. In someaspects, the UEs 115 that do not include UICCs may also be referred toas IoT devices or internet of everything (IoE) devices. The UEs 115a-115 d are examples of mobile smart phone-type devices accessingnetwork 100. A UE 115 may also be a machine specifically configured forconnected communication, including machine type communication (MTC),enhanced MTC (eMTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) and the like. The UEs 115e-115 k are examples of various machines configured for communicationthat access the network 100. A UE 115 may be able to communicate withany type of the BSs, whether macro BS, small cell, or the like. In FIG.1, a lightning bolt (e.g., communication links) indicates wirelesstransmissions between a UE 115 and a serving BS 105, which is a BSdesignated to serve the UE 115 on the downlink and/or uplink, or desiredtransmission between BSs, and backhaul transmissions between BSs.

In operation, the BSs 105 a-105 c may serve the UEs 115 a and 115 busing 3D beamforming and coordinated spatial techniques, such ascoordinated multipoint (CoMP) or multi-connectivity. The macro BS 105 dmay perform backhaul communications with the BSs 105 a-105 c, as well assmall cell, the BS 105 f. The macro BS 105 d may also transmitsmulticast services which are subscribed to and received by the UEs 115 cand 115 d. Such multicast services may include mobile television orstream video, or may include other services for providing communityinformation, such as weather emergencies or alerts, such as Amber alertsor gray alerts.

The BSs 105 may also communicate with a core network. The core networkmay provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking,Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, ormobility functions. At least some of the BSs 105 (e.g., which may be anexample of a gNB or an access node controller (ANC)) may interface withthe core network through backhaul links (e.g., NG-C, NG-U, etc.) and mayperform radio configuration and scheduling for communication with theUEs 115. In various examples, the BSs 105 may communicate, eitherdirectly or indirectly (e.g., through core network), with each otherover backhaul links (e.g., X1, X2, etc.), which may be wired or wirelesscommunication links.

The network 100 may also support mission critical communications withultra-reliable and redundant links for mission critical devices, such asthe UE 115 e, which may be a drone. Redundant communication links withthe UE 115 e may include links from the macro BSs 105 d and 105 e, aswell as links from the small cell BS 105 f. Other machine type devices,such as the UE 115 f (e.g., a thermometer), the UE 115 g (e.g., smartmeter), and UE 115 h (e.g., wearable device) may communicate through thenetwork 100 either directly with BSs, such as the small cell BS 105 f,and the macro BS 105 e, or in multi-hop configurations by communicatingwith another user device which relays its information to the network,such as the UE 115 f communicating temperature measurement informationto the smart meter, the UE 115 g, which is then reported to the networkthrough the small cell BS 105 f. The network 100 may also provideadditional network efficiency through dynamic, low-latency TDD/FDDcommunications, such as in a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V).

In some implementations, the network 100 utilizes OFDM-based waveformsfor communications. An OFDM-based system may partition the system BWinto multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also commonlyreferred to as subcarriers, tones, bins, or the like. Each subcarriermay be modulated with data. In some instances, the subcarrier spacingbetween adjacent subcarriers may be fixed, and the total number ofsubcarriers (K) may be dependent on the system BW. The system BW mayalso be partitioned into subbands. In other instances, the subcarrierspacing and/or the duration of TTIs may be scalable.

In an embodiment, the BSs 105 can assign or schedule transmissionresources (e.g., in the form of time-frequency resource blocks (RB)) fordownlink (DL) and uplink (UL) transmissions in the network 100. DLrefers to the transmission direction from a BS 105 to a UE 115, whereasUL refers to the transmission direction from a UE 115 to a BS 105. Thecommunication can be in the form of radio frames. A radio frame may bedivided into a plurality of subframes or slots, for example, about 10.Each slot may be further divided into mini-slots. In a FDD mode,simultaneous UL and DL transmissions may occur in different frequencybands. For example, each subframe includes an UL subframe in an ULfrequency band and a DL subframe in a DL frequency band. In a TDD mode,UL and DL transmissions occur at different time periods using the samefrequency band. For example, a subset of the subframes (e.g., DLsubframes) in a radio frame may be used for DL transmissions and anothersubset of the subframes (e.g., UL subframes) in the radio frame may beused for UL transmissions.

The DL subframes and the UL subframes can be further divided intoseveral regions. For example, each DL or UL subframe may havepre-defined regions for transmissions of reference signals, controlinformation, and data. Reference signals are predetermined signals thatfacilitate the communications between the BSs 105 and the UEs 115. Forexample, a reference signal can have a particular pilot pattern orstructure, where pilot tones may span across an operational BW orfrequency band, each positioned at a pre-defined time and a pre-definedfrequency. For example, a BS 105 may transmit cell specific referencesignals (CRSs) and/or channel state information—reference signals(CSI-RSs) to enable a UE 115 to estimate a DL channel. Similarly, a UE115 may transmit sounding reference signals (SRSs) to enable a BS 105 toestimate an UL channel Control information may include resourceassignments and protocol controls. Data may include protocol data and/oroperational data. In some embodiments, the BSs 105 and the UEs 115 maycommunicate using self-contained subframes. A self-contained subframemay include a portion for DL communication and a portion for ULcommunication. A self-contained subframe can be DL-centric orUL-centric. A DL-centric subframe may include a longer duration for DLcommunication than for UL communication. An UL-centric subframe mayinclude a longer duration for UL communication than for DLcommunication.

The UE 115 can perform a random access procedure to establish aconnection with the BS 105. After establishing a connection, the UE 115and the BS 105 can enter a normal operation stage, where operationaldata may be exchanged. For example, the BS 105 may schedule the UE 115for UL and/or DL communications. The BS 105 may transmit UL and/or DLscheduling grants to the UE 115 via a physical downlink control channel(PDCCH). The BS 105 may transmit a DL communication signal to the UE 115via a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) according to a DLscheduling grant. The UE 115 may transmit an UL communication signal tothe BS 105 via a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) and/or physicaluplink control channel (PUCCH) according to an UL scheduling grant.

In an embodiment, the network 100 may operate over shared frequencybands or unlicensed frequency bands, for example, at about 3.5 gigahertz(GHz), sub-6 GHz or higher frequencies in the mmWave band. The network100 may partition a frequency band into multiple channels or subbands,for example, each occupying about 20 megahertz (MHz). In an example, awireless communication device (e.g., the BS 105 or the UE 115) mayemploy an LBT procedure to reserve a channel occupancy time (COT) in theshared medium for communications. A COT may also be referred to as atransmission opportunity (TXOP). COTs may be non-continuous in time andmay refer to an amount of time a station can send frames when it has woncontention for the wireless medium. Each COT may include a plurality ofslots and one or more medium sensing periods. A transmitting node maylisten to one or more subbands (e.g., channels) within the frequencyspectrum.

In an example, the BS 105 may perform an LBT in one or more frequencysubbands prior to transmitting in the respective subband and maytransmit in one or more subbands based on the LBT result. The BS 105 mayperform the LBT based on energy detection and/or signal detection. TheLBT that may result may be a pass if the channel signal energy is belowa threshold and/or no reservation signal is detected. The LBT that mayresult may be a failure if the channel signal energy is above athreshold and/or a reservation signal is detected. The BS 105 mayperform an LBT on each subband independently. If the BS reserves a COTin the subband (subband is available and performance of the LBT resultsin a LBT pass for the subband), the BS 105 may perform a DLtransmission, receive a UL transmission from the UE 115, and/or schedulethe UE 115 for data transmission and/or reception in the subband andwithin the COT. If the BS is unable to reserve a COT in the subband(subband is unavailable and performance of the LBT results in a LBTfail), the BS 105 may back off and perform the LBT procedure in thesubband again at a later point in time. In another example, the UE 115may perform an LBT in one or more subbands prior to transmitting in therespective subband and may transmit in one or more subbands based on theLBT result. The UE 105 may perform an LBT on each subband independently.If the UE 115 reserves a COT in the subband (subband is available andperformance of the LBT results in a LBT pass for the subband), the UE115 may perform an UL transmission or receive a DL transmission from theBS 105. If the UE 115 is unable to reserve a COT in the subband (subbandis unavailable and performance of the LBT results in a LBT fail), the UE115 may back off and perform the LBT procedure again at a later point intime.

An LBT may be in a variety of modes. An LBT mode may be, for example, acategory 4 LBT or a category 2 LBT. A category 2 LBT refers to an LBTwithout a random backoff period. A category 4 LBT refers to an LBT witha random backoff and a variable contention window (CW). By default, theUE 115 may perform a category 4 LBT for UL transmissions. If the UE 115can transmit an UL transmission during a COT reserved by the BS 105, theUE 115 may switch from performing the category 4 LBT to the category 2LBT. If the category 2 LBT results in an LBT pass, the UE 115 maytransmit the UL transmission during the COT.

FIG. 2 illustrates a communication scheme 200 for communicatingindicators indicating a COT structure according to some embodiments ofthe present disclosure. The communication scheme 200 may correspond to ascheme communicated between a BS 105 and a UE 115 of the network 100. InFIG. 2, the x-axis represents time in some constant units. FIG. 2 showsa frame structure 201 of a COT 202 in a shared frequency spectrum. TheCOT 202 includes a plurality of slots 204 in time. The COT 202 includesten slots 204 indexed from S0 to S9. The number of slots within a COTmay vary depending on the embodiments. The COT 202 may be, for example,two ms and within the COT 202, multiple UL and DL transmissions mayoccur to and/or from the BS 105 or other wireless communication devicesoperating in the shared medium.

A BS may communicate with a UE in units of slots. The slots may also bereferred to as TTIs. Each slot or TTI may carry a medium access control(MAC) layer transport block. Each slot may include a number of symbolsin time and a number of frequency tones in frequency. Additionally, eachslot may include a DL control portion followed by at least one of asubsequent DL data portion, UL data portion, and/or an UL controlportion. In the context of LTE or NR, the DL control portion, the DLdata portion, the UL data portion, and the UL control portion may bereferred to as a PDCCH, a PDSCH, a PUSCH, and a PUCCH, respectively. Asdiscussed, the BS may transmit DL data to the UE. In turn, the UE maytransmit feedback for the DL data to the BS. The feedback may be anacknowledgement (ACK) indicating that reception of the DL data by the UEis successful or may be a negative-acknowledgement (NACK) indicatingthat reception of the DL data by the UE is unsuccessful (e.g., includingan error or failing an error correction).

Additionally, the pattern-filled boxes represent transmissions of DLcontrol information (DCI), DL data, UL data, an ACK, and/or an NACK incorresponding slots. While an entire slot is pattern-filled, atransmission may occur only in a corresponding portion of the slot.Additionally, a BS may indicate scheduling information using relativetiming (e.g., an offset time period relative to a current time period inwhich the scheduling information is communicated).

The BSs contending for a COT in a shared frequency spectrum (e.g., in asubband) may perform an LBT in the shared frequency spectrum. The BS105's ability to transmit a DL communication depends on whether the BSis able to gain access to the shared or unlicensed medium fortransmission. If the LBT results in an LBT pass, the BS 105 may reservethe COT 202. The BS 105 may transmit during the COT 202, DCI 219 in theslot 204 indexed S0 (e.g., in a DL control portion of the slot 204). TheDCI 219 may indicate a COT indicator 221 in the same slot 204 indexedS0. The COT indicator 221 may be addressed to multiple UEs and provideinformation regarding the structure of the COT 202. In an example, theCOT indicator 221 indicates a subband configuration for the COT 202(e.g., subband usage indication) and/or a duration of the COT 202 (e.g.,a remaining COT duration). In an example, the DCI 219 may include a slotformat indicator (SFI) (not shown) that includes the COT indicator 221.An SFI may indicate slot format information for the current slot andsubsequent slots in the current COT. For example, the SFI informs the UEwhether a slot is a DL, an UL, or a flexible slot and may indicate linkdirection over one or many slots through RRC signaling. Additionally,the SFI may denote whether a given symbol (e.g., OFDM symbol) in a slotis used for UL, DL, or flexible link direction in the current COT.

Additionally, the BS may transmit during the COT 202, DCI 220 in theslot indexed S1 (e.g., in a DL control portion of the slot 204). The DCI220 may indicate a DL grant 223 in the same slot 204 indexed S1. Thus,the BS transmits a DL data signal 224 to the UE in the slot 204 indexedS1 (e.g., in a DL data portion of the slot 204). The UE may receive theDL data signal 224 via a scheduled DL grant in PDCCH via DCI 220. The UEmay receive and decode the DCI 220 based on the DL grant 223.Additionally, the UE may receive the DL data signal 224 based on the DLgrant. After receiving the DL data signal 224, the UE 115 may report areception status of the DL data signal 224 to the BS by transmitting anACK/NACK signal 228 (e.g., in an UL data portion or an UL controlportion of a slot). The ACK/NACK signal 228 refers to a feedback signalcarrying an ACK or a NACK. The UE may transmit an ACK when the receptionof the DL data signal 224 is successful (e.g., received the DL datawithout error). Alternatively, the UE may transmit a NACK when thereception of the DL data signal 224 is unsuccessful (e.g., including anerror or failing an error correction). The BS 105 may indicate theresource (e.g., slot) that may be used by the UE 115 for providing thefeedback. The resource may be provided via a COT structure configurationand/or a control channel information detected by the UE 115

The ACK/NACK signal 228 may be associated with a hybrid automatic repeatrequest (HARQ) process. In a HARQ process, a transmitting node maytransmit various coded versions of information data to a receiving node.For example, the transmitting node may transmit a first coded version ofinformation data to the receiving node. Upon receiving an NACK signalfrom the receiving node, the transmitting node may transmit a secondcoded version of the information data to the receiving node. Thereceiving node may combine the received first coded version and thereceived second coded version for error correction when both thereceived first coded version and the received second coded version areerroneous.

During the COT 202, the BS further transmits DCI 222 in the slot 204indexed S2 (e.g., in a DL control portion of the slot 204). The DCI 222may indicate an UL grant for the UE. The UE may perform an LBT in theshared frequency spectrum (e.g., in a subband). If the LBT results in anLBT pass, the UE transmits an UL data signal 226 to the BS in the slot204 indexed S6 (e.g., in a UL data portion of the slot 204) based on theUL assignment. The UE may transmit the UL data signal 226 via ascheduled UL (SUL) grant indicated in PDCCH via DCI 222.

It should be understood that the DCI 220 for the DL grant 223 and theDCI 219 for the COT indicator 221 can be in the same slot or differentslots. Additionally, although the DL grant 223 for the DL data signal224 indicated by the DCI 220 and the UL grant indicated by the DCI 222are shown as being indicated by different DCIs, it should be understoodthat the aforementioned DL and UL grants may be in different DCI, butmay be within the DL control channel of the same slot.

During the COT 202, the BS further transmits DCI 241 in the slot 204indexed S7 (e.g., in a DL control portion of the slot 204).Additionally, the BS transmits DCI 230 in the slot 204 indexed S8 (e.g.,in a DL control portion of the slot 204). The DCI 230 may indicate a DLgrant for the UE in the same slot 204 indexed S8. Thus, the BS transmitsa DL data signal 232 to the UE in the slot 204 indexed S8 (e.g., in a DLdata portion of the slot 204). The DCI 241 may indicate a COT indicator231 that provides an update of the structure of the COT 202 sincetransmission of the COT indicator 221, indicated by an arrow 240. In anexample, the COT indicator 231 updates the previously provided COTinformation provided by the COT indicator 221.

In an example, the COT indicator 221, 231 may indicate a subbandconfiguration for the COT 202. For example, the BS may attempt tocommunicate with the UE over a plurality of subbands. The BS maytransmit the COT indicator 221, 231 indicating in which subbands of theplurality of subbands the BS was able to acquire a COT. The UE may alsobe provided with other forms of subband usage indications from the BS.The UE may use various techniques for determining subband usage by theBS in the plurality of subbands. A subband may be referred to as a validsubband if the UE determines that the BS is using the subband during theCOT. A subband may be referred to as an invalid subband if the UEdetermines that the BS is not using the subband during the COT or if itis unknown whether the BS is using the subband during the COT. FIGS. 3-7illustrate communication schemes and/or communication methods forcommunicating subband usage indications and communicating communicationsignals based on the subband configuration.

In another example, the BS transmits the COT indicator 221, 231indicating a duration of the COT 202. The BS and UE may use varioustechniques for determining a COT duration and communicatingcommunication signals based on the COT duration. FIGS. 8-11 illustratecommunication schemes and/or communication method for communicating COTduration indications and communicating communication signals based onthe indicated COT durations. The BS and/or the UE may use any of thesetechniques or combination of techniques as discussed in the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a communication scheme 300 for indicating a subbandconfiguration (e.g., subband usage indication) for a COT according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure. The communication scheme 300may be employed by UEs such as the UEs 115 and/or BSs such as BSs 105 ina network such as the network 100. In FIG. 3, the x-axis represents timein some constant units, and the y-axis represents frequency in someconstant units.

The UE may perform either a category 2 LBT or a category 4 LBT in asubband and may transmit an UL communication signal in the subband basedon an LBT pass. The UE may determine, based on an indicated subbandconfiguration for the COT, whether to perform the category 4 LBT or thecategory 2 LBT in the subband. By default, the UE 115 may perform acategory 4 LBT for UL transmissions. The UE may perform a category 4 LBTin a subband if the UE determines that the subband is invalid.Conversely, the UE may perform a category 2 LBT in a subband if the UEdetermines that the subband is valid. The UE may determine that asubband is valid if the UE has received a COT indicator indicating usageof the subband by the BS and/or if the UE receives the COT indicator,PDCCH, PDSCH, or is scheduled with an UL transmission in the subband, orany combination of these. In some examples, the BS may transmit a ULscheduling DCI instructing the UE to perform either the category 2 LBTor the category 4 LBT. The UE may accordingly perform the instructedcategory 2 LBT or the category 4 LBT and transmit the UL transmission ifthe LBT passes.

The BS performs an LBT in a plurality of subbands including a subband302, a subband 304, a subband 306, and a subband 308. The BS may performan LBT on each subband of the plurality of subbands independently. Asindicated by a checkmark in LBTs 312, 320, and 328, each of the LBTs312, 320, and 328 results in an LBT pass and the BS reserves a COT 310in the subbands 302, 304, and 308. As indicated by an “X” in the LBT326, the LBT 326 results in an LBT fail.

As soon as the BS passes the LBT 312 in the subband 302, the BS maystart DL transmissions. At time T0, the BS transmits to the UE, a COTindicator 314 indicating a subband configuration for the COT 310. TheCOT indicator 314 provides the UE with information regarding the BS'ssubband usage for the COT 310. The BS may also transmit DL data 316 andDL data 318 based on the LBT pass in the subband 302. Before the LBT 312passes, the BS may encode a scheduling grant (e.g., a DL or an ULscheduling grant) and start preparing a DL data packet for transmissionin the subband 302. The BS may prepare the payload for transmitting theCOT indicator 314 before the LBT 312 passes in the subband 302.Accordingly, at the time the BS transmits the COT indicator 314, the COTindicator may not be an accurate depiction of the BS's subband usage(e.g., those subbands in which the BS was able to reserve a COT).

To mediate the “unknown” factor regarding the BS's subband usage, the BSmay send the COT indicator 314 indicating that the BS's subband usage isunknown. The COT indicator 314 may indicate that the BS's subband usageis unknown via a reserved bitmap 334 storing all zeros (e.g., <0000>).In this example, a bitmap that does not store all zeros may indicatethat the BS's subband usage is known and may further indicate anaccurate subband usage by the BS. Each bit in the bitmap corresponds toa subband of the plurality of subbands. The first bit in the bitmap maycorrespond to the subband 302, the second bit in the bitmap maycorrespond to the subband 304, the third bit in the bitmap maycorrespond to the subband 306, and the fourth bit in the bitmap maycorrespond to the subband 308.

The BS's subband usage may be represented by a bitmap indicating whichsubbands are used by the BS in the current COT 310, unless the bitmap isa reserved bitmap (e.g., all zeros) indicating that the BS's subbandusage is unknown. If the BS's subband usage is unknown, the subbands maybe referred to as invalid subbands. The UE may determine, based on asubband usage indicator, whether a subband is valid or invalid. If theUE determines that the BS is using a subband (e.g., the BS was able toreserve a COT in the subband), the subband may be referred to as a validsubband. If the UE determines that the BS is not using a subband (e.g.,the BS was unable to reserve a COT in the subband), the subband may bereferred to as an invalid subband. In the example illustrated in FIG. 3,the UE may determine that a subband is valid if the corresponding bit inthe bitmap is one and may determine that a subband is invalid if thecorresponding bit in the bitmap is zero.

The UE determines, based on the COT indicator 314, that the BS's subbandusage is unknown. After receiving the COT indicator 314, the UE expectsa subsequent COT indicator within the COT 310, where the subsequent COTindicator indicates an update to the COT structure information providedby the COT indicator 314. It should be understood that any reservedvalue (other than all zeros as provided as an example in FIG. 3) mayindicate that the BS's subband usage is unknown. Further, although abitmap is described, any data structure (e.g., an array) may be used forstoring values representing the BS's subband usage or that the BS'ssubband usage is unknown. Furthermore, it should be understood that inother examples, the UE may determine that a subband is valid if thecorresponding bit in the bitmap is zero and may determine that a subbandis invalid if the corresponding bit in the bitmap is one.

At time T3, the BS transmits a COT indicator 336 represented by a bitmap338 <1101> indicating that the BS's subband usage is known and furtherindicating the BS's exact subband usage (based on the results from theLBTs 328, 326, 320, and 312). The bitmap 338 is different from thereserved bitmap 334 that indicates that the BS's subband usage isunknown (e.g., all zeros). Between time T0 and time T3, the BS's exactsubband usage may be unknown by the UE because the UE has not yetreceived the COT indicator 336. In some examples, the UE may perform,based on a determination that the BS's subband usage is unknown, acategory 2 LBT on each subband of the plurality of subbands 302, 304,306, and 308. In this example, the UE may assume that it is outside of aCOT acquired by the BS if the BS's subband usage is unknown andaccordingly does not switching from the category 4 LBT to the category 2LBT. The UE may determine whether to switch to the category 2 LBT afterreceiving the COT indicator 336. For example, the UE may determine,based on the COT indicator 336, whether a subband is being used orreserved by the BS. In this example, the UE may perform, based on adetermination that the subband is valid (e.g., the subband is being usedby the BS), a category 2 LBT in the subband. Additionally, the UE mayperform, based on a determination that the subband is invalid (e.g., thesubband is not being used or reserved by the BS), a category 4 LBT inthe subband.

Before the UE receives the COT indicator 336 indicating the BS's exactsubband usage, the UE may be provided with subband usage indicatorsindicating that a BS has acquired a COT in one or more subbands. Forexample, between time T0 and time T1, the BS's subband usage is unknown,and the BS may transmit the COT indicator 314, DL data 316, and DL data318 based on the LBT pass in the subband 302. The UE may receive asubband usage indication that the subband 302 is valid based onreceiving the COT indicator 314 or other PDCCH in the subband 302. Inother words, the UE may determine that the subband 302 is valid based onreceiving the COT indicator 314 and/or other PDCCH (e.g., DL data 316 orDL data 318) in the subband 302. In response to a determination that thesubband 302 is valid, the UE may perform a category 2 LBT 346 during anLBT gap 348 in the subband 302. In this example, the UE may assume thatthe BS has reserved the COT 310 in the subband 302 and may accordinglyperform a category 2 LBT in the valid subband. After the BS completesthe DL transmission of DL data 316 and DL data 318, the BS may monitorfor an UL transmission. The UE may perform an LBT during the LBT gap 348due to the link switching from DL to UL. The LBT gap 348 may be locatedbetween an end of transmission of the DL data 318 and a start of aconfigured-grant UL (CG-UL) 350. The UE may transmit UCI and/or UL datavia the CG-UL 350 based on a successful category 2 LBT 346.

A configured UL transmission is an unscheduled transmission, performedon the channel without an UL grant. A configured UL transmission mayalso be referred to as a grantless, grant-free, or autonomoustransmission. In some examples, the UE may transmit an UL resource via aconfigured grant. Additionally, configured-UL data may also be referredto as grantless UL data, grant-free UL data, unscheduled UL data, orautonomous UL (AUL) data. Additionally, a configured grant may also bereferred to as a grant-free grant, unscheduled grant, or autonomousgrant. The resources and other parameters used by the UE for aconfigured grant transmission may be provided by the BS in an RRCconfiguration or an activation DCI, without an explicit grant for eachUE transmission.

It may be difficult for the UE to determine in which subband(s) thePDCCH is received if the PDCCH is distributed over multiple subbands.For example, the BS may use PDCCH puncturing to mediate small gapsbetween obtaining the medium and transmission on the medium.Accordingly, it may be incorrect for the UE to assume that a BS reserveda COT in each subband in which a PDCCH is transmitted because thetransmitter of the PDCCH may have used this puncturing technique for thetransmission. The RRC configuration or DCI may indicate if the PDCCHuses puncturing. If PDCCH puncturing is enabled and if the PDCCHcandidate spans multiple subbands, it is possible that receiving thePDCCH in a set of subbands does not translate into the set of subbandsbeing valid. In this example, the UE may determine to not use thereceived PDCCH to determine that the set of subbands is valid. In thisexample, the UE does not perform category 2 LBT in the set of subbandsif the PDCCH spans multiple subbands and the PDCCH uses puncturing. Insome examples, the UE receives a PDCCH in a plurality of subbands anddetermines whether PDCCH puncturing is enabled. The UE may determinethat at least one subband of the plurality of subbands (or the pluralityof subbands) is valid in response to receiving the PDCCH in theplurality of subbands and in response to a determination that PDCCHpuncturing is not enabled.

Between time T0 and time T1, the BS's subband usage is unknown.Additionally, the BS may transmit DL data 330 and DL data 332 based onthe LBT pass in the subband 308. In some examples, the UE may continueto perform a category 4 LBT (and does not switch to performing acategory 2 LBT) until the UE receives the COT indicator 336 indicatingthat the subband usage for the COT 310 by the BS is known and furtherindicating the BS's accurate subband usage. In response to adetermination that the BS's subband usage is unknown, the UE performs acategory 4 LBT 340 during an LBT gap 342 in the subband 308. After theBS completes the DL transmission of the DL data 330 and the DL data 332,the BS may monitor for an UL transmission. The UE may perform an LBTduring the LBT gap 342 due to the link switching from DL to UL. The LBTgap 342 may be between an end of transmission of the DL data 332 and astart of a CG-UL 344. The UE may transmit UCI and/or UL data via theCG-UL 344 based on a successful category 4 LBT 340.

Between time T1 and time T2, the BS's subband usage is unknown.Additionally, the BS may transmit DCI indicating a DL grant 352 based onthe LBT pass in the subband 308. The PDCCH may schedule the PDSCH forthe same or different subband in which the PDCCH is transmitted. The UEmay decode the PDCCH and receive the scheduled DL data 354 based on theDL grant 352. The UE may receive a subband usage indication that thesubband 308 is valid based on receiving the DL grant 352 for PDSCH inthe subband 308. In other words, the UE may determine that the subband308 is valid based on receiving the DL grant 352 for a scheduled DLtransmission in the subband 308. If the UE is scheduled for PDSCH in asubband, the UE may assume that the BS has reserved the COT 310 in thesubband and may accordingly perform a category 2 LBT in the validsubband. In response to a determination that the subband 308 is valid,the UE may perform a category 2 LBT 356 during an LBT gap 358 in thesubband 308. The UE may transmit UCI and/or UL data via a CG-UL 360based on a successful category 2 LBT 356.

If the UE receives PDSCH that was punctured due to a subband LBT fail,the UE may incorrectly assume that the BS was able to reserve a COT inthe subband. In an example, the BS may use PDSCH puncturing to mediatesmall gaps between obtaining the medium and transmission on the medium.Accordingly, it may be incorrect to assume that a BS reserved a COT ineach subband in which a PDSCH for a DL grant is scheduled because thetransmitter of the PDSCH may have used this puncturing technique for thescheduling. The RRC configuration or DCI may indicate if the PDSCH usespuncturing. If PDSCH puncturing is enabled, it is possible thatreceiving the PDSCH in a set of subbands does not translate into the setof subbands being valid. In this example, the UE may determine to notuse the PDSCH scheduling information to determine that the set ofsubbands is valid. In this example, the UE does not perform category 2LBT in the set of subbands if the PDSCH uses puncturing. In someexamples, the UE receives a DL grant for a DL transmission in aplurality of subbands and determines whether PDSCH puncturing isenabled. The UE may determine that the plurality of subbands are validin response to receiving the DL grant for the DL transmission in theplurality of subbands and in response to a determination that PDSCHpuncturing is not enabled.

Additionally, the BS may schedule, based on the LBT pass in the subband304, an UL transmission for the UE. The PDCCH may schedule the PUCCHand/or the PUSCH for the same or different subband in which the PDCCH istransmitted. The UE may decode the PDCCH and receive the UL grantindicating that the UE is scheduled for an UL transmission (e.g., PUSCHor PUCCH) in the subband 304. The UE may receive a subband usageindication that the subband 304 is valid based on receiving the UL grantfor the UL transmission in the subband 304. In some examples, the UE maydetermine that the subband 304 is valid based on being scheduled with aSUL 362 for the subband 304. If the UE is scheduled with the SUL 362 forthe subband 304, the UE may assume that the BS has reserved the COT 310in the subband and may accordingly perform a category 2 LBT in the validsubband. In response to a determination that the subband 304 is valid,the UE may perform a category 2 LBT 368 during an LBT gap 360 in thesubband 304. The UE may transmit UCI and/or UL data via the SUL 362based on a successful category 2 LBT 368.

Additionally, the UE may perform, based on the SUL 362 and/or a SUL 370for the subband 304, a category 2 LBT 372 during an LBT gap 366. The UEmay transmit UCI and/or UL data via the SUL 370 based on a successfulcategory 2 LBT 372. It may be unlikely for the UE to receive an UL grantwith a category 2 LBT at the start of the COT 310 because the BS may nothave subband LBT status at that point. For example, to transmit the DCIindicating an UL grant, the BS prepares the PDCCH. In some examples, theUE is scheduled for an UL transmission for a plurality of subbands andmay transmit an UL transmission (e.g., PUCCH or PUSCH) only if all thesubbands of the plurality are available for the UE to use for the ULtransmission (e.g., the UE is able to reserve a COT in each of thesubbands of the plurality). Accordingly, it may be incorrect to assumethat receiving an UL grant for an UL transmission in the subband 304translates into the BS reserving a COT for all scheduled subbands with aSUL. In this example, the UE may determine to not use the UL schedulinginformation to determine the BS's subband usage or whether a subband isvalid.

The BS may transmit multiple COT indicators inside the COT 310 andprovide the UE with updated information regarding the BS's subband usagefor the COT 310. For example, the COT indicator 314 may be a tentativeindication to provide the BS with more time to prepare a more accuratedepiction of the BS's subband usage. As time progresses, the BS may passthe LBT 320 in the subband 304 and update the bit corresponding to thesubband 304 in the bitmap 334 to a value of one. If the bitmap isdifferent from the reserved bitmap, the bitmap may be an updated bitmapthat indicates the BS's current subband usage.

A COT indicator is indicated within the COT 310 multiple times. Forexample, at time T3, the UE receives the COT indicator 336 representedby the bitmap 338 “<1101>” in the subband 302. The COT indicator 336 mayindicate the BS's “exact subband usage” or “accurate subband usage” andmay “override” the previous BS's subband usage indicated by COTindicator 314. The bitmap 338 indicates that the BS's subband usage isknown and the BS's exact subband usage. The bitmap 338 indicates thatduring the COT 310, the BS is using the subband 302 (first bit of thebitmap 338 is one), the subband 304 (second bit of the bitmap 338 isone), and the subband 308 (fourth bit of the bitmap 338 is one), but notusing the subband 304 (third bit of the bitmap 338 is zero).Accordingly, the UE determines, based on receiving the COT indicator336, that subbands 302, 304, and 308 are valid and that subband 306 isinvalid. The UE may perform a category 2 LBT on valid subbands andperform a category 4 LBT on invalid subbands. In response to adetermination that the subbands 302, 304, and 308 are valid based on theCOT indicator 336, the UE may perform a category 2 LBT in the validsubbands 302, 304, and/or 308 before transmitting an UL communicationsignal. Additionally, the UE may perform a category 4 LBT in the invalidsubband 306 before transmitting an UL communication signal.

The COT indicator 336 may also be referred to as “an exact subband usageindication” or “an accurate subband usage indication.” In some examplesthe UE may determine that the BS's subband usage is known only inresponse to receiving the COT indicator 336. In an example, the UE maydetermine that the subbands 302, 304, 306, and 308 are invalid based onthe COT indicator 314 and determine that a subband is valid only basedon an indication by a subsequent COT indicator (e.g., COT 338). In thisexample, the UE may ignore the above subband usage indications.

The COT indicator 314 is the first COT indicator transmitted by the BS,and the COT indicator 336 is the next COT indicator transmitted by theBS after the first COT indicator. The UE may maintain a bitmap (or otherdata structure) that stores an indication of the BS's subband usage. Inan example, the UE receives the COT indicator 314 may continue toincrementally update the BS's subband usage based on one or more of thesubband usage indicators discussed in the present disclosure and/or thesubsequent COT indicators (e.g., COT indicator 336). For example, the UEmay store the bitmap 334 and incrementally update it based on the one ormore of the subband usage indicators. When the UE receives the COTindicator 336, the UE may store the bitmap 338 as indicating the BS'saccurate or exact subband usage. In another example, the UE stores thebitmap 334 and only updates the subband usage information based onreceiving subsequent COT indicators (e.g., COT indicator 336). In thisexample, the UE ignores the above subband usage indications formaintaining and determining the BS's subband usage.

To receive messages from the BS 105, the UE 115 may perform DL controlchannel monitoring. The BS 105 may configure the UE 115 with one or moreCORESETs in one or more subbands. A CORESET may include a set offrequency resources spanning a number of symbols in time. The BS 105 mayconfigure the UE 115 with one or more search spaces for PDCCH monitoringbased on the CORESETS. The UE 115 may perform blind decoding in thesearch spaces to search for DCI information from the BS. In an example,the BS 105 may configure the UE 115 with the subbands, the CORESETS,and/or the PDCCH search spaces via RRC configurations. The UE may usevarious techniques for receiving DL control messages via PDCCH based onthe subband configuration for the COT 310. The UE may use any of thesetechniques or combination of techniques as discussed in the presentdisclosure.

The BS 105 may configure a UE 115 with multiple PDCCH monitoringconfigurations. Each configuration may include a group of search spaces(e.g., PDCCH monitoring occasions) for DL control channel monitoring.The PDCCH monitoring configurations may provide different time and/orfrequency monitoring patterns. Each group or each configuration mayinclude a different set of search spaces. In an example, the BS 105 mayconfigure the UE 115 with multiple groups or configurations of PDCCHsearch spaces for PDCCH monitoring. The different groups of PDCCH searchspaces may provide different monitoring periodicities, for example, at aslot boundary for a slower frequency monitoring or at a mini-slotboundary for more frequent monitoring. Additionally, the BS mayconfigure the UE with triggering conditions for switching among thegroups. The triggering conditions can include, for example, anindication that the BS's subband usage is known or unknown. Theswitching between the first and second search groups based on thesubband configuration for the COT (e.g., whether the BS's subband usageis known or unknown) provides opportunities for the UE to save powerwhen frequent monitoring may not be needed (e.g., the UE knows in whichsubbands the BS has acquired a COT).

The BS may instruct the UE to switch the DL control channel monitoringconfiguration based on various triggers. For example, the BS mayconfigure the UE to use a first search space group with a more frequentmonitoring pattern (e.g., at intervals of about 2 symbols or about 3symbols) if the BS's subband usage is unknown. In an example, the UE mayreceive the COT indicator 314 and may accordingly monitor PDCCH on allsubbands of the plurality of subbands 302, 304, 306, and 308. While theBS's subband usage is unknown, the UE may assume that the BS has not yetacquired a COT, which may be reserved in any of the subbands and startat a symbol in the middle of a slot. The UE accordingly monitors all ofthe subbands for DCI.

The BS may configure the UE to switch from the first search space groupto a second search space group with a slower frequency monitoringpattern upon a detection of one or more valid subbands. The secondsearch space group may include the valid subbands (e.g., subbands thathave been indicated as being valid based on receiving PDCCH, PDSCH,and/or a scheduled UL transmission in the subbands or based on receivingan accurate subband usage from the BS via transmission of a second COTindicator). If the BS's subband usage is known, the UE may assume thatthe BS has acquired a COT in the subbands and accordingly may monitor ata slower pace because the PDCCH may be transmitted, for example, onceper slot. The second search space group may be a subset of and includefewer subbands than the first search space group.

In some examples, the UE may detect the valid subband in response toreceiving a subband usage indication for the subband. The UE may receivea subband usage indication for a subband if the UE receives a COTindicator or other PDCCH in the subband (e.g., receiving the COTindicator 314 in the subband 302), is scheduled with PDSCH in thesubband (e.g., receiving the DL grant 352 that schedules transmission ofthe DL data 354 in the subband 308), and/or is scheduled with an ULtransmission in the subband (e.g., receiving the UL grant that schedulestransmission of the UL data via the SUL 362 in the subband 304). In anexample referring to FIG. 3, the UE detects the valid subband only uponreceiving the COT indicator 336. In this example, the UE continues touse the first search space group with a more frequent monitoring patternuntil it receives the “accurate subband usage” from the BS via the COTindicator 336.

In some examples, the BS transmits a switching bit in the COT indicatorto indicate to the UE whether to switch the DL control channelmonitoring configuration. In an example, if the switching bit has afirst value (“0”), the UE may determine to continue using the currentsearch space group (e.g., the first search space group) and accordinglynot switch to another search space group (e.g., the second search spacegroup). If the switching bit has a second value (“1”) different from thefirst value, the UE may determine to switch to another search spacegroup different from the current search space group. In some examples,the BS instructs the UE to use the first search space group with a morefrequent monitoring pattern based on receiving the COT indicator 314 andfurther to switch to the second search space group upon receiving theaccurate subband usage in the next COT indicator 336 after the COTindicator 314.

In some examples, the BS may transmit a periodic-CSI-RS (P-CSI-RS) inone or more subbands of the plurality of subbands 302, 304, 306, and308. The UE may receive the P-CSI-RS in a subband, process the P-CSI-RS,and transmit a CSI report based on the P-CSI-RS to the BS. The CSIreport may include channel quality information (CQI), preceding matrixindicator (PMI), CRI (CRS-RS resource indicator), SS/PBCH resource blockindicator (SSBRI), link indicator (LI), and/or rank indicator (RI),and/or L1-RSRP.

FIG. 4 illustrates a communication scheme 400 for indicating a subbandconfiguration (e.g., subband usage indication) for a COT according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure. The communication scheme 400may be employed by UEs such as the UEs 115 and/or BSs such as BSs 105 ina network such as the network 100. In FIG. 4, the x-axis represents timein some constant units, and the y-axis represents frequency in someconstant units. The plurality of subbands 302, 304, 206, and 308 and theCOT indicators 314 and 336 were discussed above in relation to FIG. 3.

In FIG. 4, at time T0, the UE receives the COT indicator 314 indicatingthat the BS's subband usage is unknown. At time T2, the UE receives theCOT indicator 336 in the subband 302. At time T1, which is between timeT0 and time T2, the UE receives a P-CSI-RS 406 in the subband 302, aP-CSI-RS 408 in the subband 304, and a P-CSI-RS 410 in the subband 308.In some examples, the UE may determine whether a subband in which aP-CSI-RS was transmitted is valid. The UE may determine that a P-CSI-RStransmitted in a valid subband is valid and further determine that aP-CSI-RS transmitted in an invalid subband is invalid. The UE mayreceive and process P-CSI-RSs transmitted in valid subbands and ignore(not process) P-CSI-RSs transmitted in invalid subbands.

The UE may utilize the subband usage indications discussed in relationto FIG. 3 to determine whether a subband in which a P-CSI-RS istransmitted is valid. In an example, after receiving the COT indicator314, the UE may determine that all subbands are invalid until the UEreceives the COT indicator 336. In this example, the UE may determine,based on the subbands 302, 304, and 308 being invalid, that the P-CSI-RS406, the P-CSI-RS 408, and the P-CSI-RS 410 are also invalid andaccordingly does not process the P-CSI-RS 406, the P-CSI-RS 408, or theP-CSI-RS 410. Accordingly, the UE does not transmit a CSI report basedon the invalid P-CSI-RSs 406, 408, and 410 to the BS.

In some examples, the UE may determine that a subband is valid based ona subband usage indication. As discussed above, the UE may receive asubband usage indication that the subband 302 is valid based onreceiving the COT indicator 314 or other PDCCH (e.g., DL data 316) inthe subband 302. The UE may maintain a subband usage 404 indicating thatonly the subband 302 is valid. In response to a determination that thesubband 302 is valid, the UE may determine that the P-CSI-RS 406 isvalid and may accordingly process the P-CSI-RS 406. After the BScompletes the DL transmission of the DL data 316, the BS may monitor foran UL transmission. The UE may transmit, based on the valid P-CSI-RS406, a CSI report 440 for the subband 302 via the CG-UL 350 in thesubband 302 to the BS. Alternatively, the UE may transmit, based on thevalid P-CSI-RS 406, a CSI report 440 for the subband 302 via an SUL.Additionally, in an example, the UE may determine to not use thereceived PDCCH to determine that a subband is valid if PDCCH puncturingis enabled and the PDCCH candidate spans multiple subbands.

As discussed, the UE may determine, based on the COT indicator 314, thatthe BS's subband usage is unknown. The UE may determine, based on theBS's subband usage being unknown, that the subband 308 is invalid. Inresponse to a determination that the subband 308 is invalid, the UEdetermines that the P-CSI-RS 410 is also invalid, shown by an “X” mark411. The UE may continue to ignore P-CSI-RSs in the subband 308 untilthe UE receives the COT indicator 336 indicating that the subband usagefor the COT 310 by the BS is known and further indicating the BS'saccurate subband usage. The processing of the COT indicator 336 isfurther discussed below.

Additionally, as discussed, the UE may receive a subband usageindication that the subband 308 is valid based on receiving a scheduledPDSCH for the subband 308. In an example, the UE receives DCI indicatingthe DL grant 352 for a scheduled DL transmission of the DL data 354. Inresponse to a determination that the subband 308 is valid, the UE maydetermine that subsequent P-CSI-RSs received in the subband 308 arevalid and accordingly may process these P-CSI-RSs. The UE may transmit,based on a processed P-CSI-RS received in the subband 308, a CSI report453 via the CG-UL 360. Additionally, in an example, the UE may determineto not use the received PDSCH scheduling information to determine that asubband is valid if PDSCH puncturing is enabled.

As discussed, the UE may receive a subband usage indication that thesubband 304 is valid based on receiving an UL grant indicating the SUL362 in the subband 304. In response to a determination that the subband304 is valid, the UE may determine that subsequent P-CSI-RSs received inthe subband 304 are valid and accordingly process these P-CSI-RSs. TheUE may transmit, based on a processed P-CSI-RS, a CSI report 455 via theSUL 362. Additionally, the UE may transmit, based on a processedP-CSI-RS received in the subband 304, a CSI report 457 via the SUL 370.In an example, the UE may determine to not use the scheduled ULtransmission for a subband to determine the BS's subband usage orwhether the subband is valid.

At time T2, the UE receives the COT indicator 336 represented by thebitmap 338 “<1101>” indicating that the BS's accurate subband usageincludes subbands 302, 304, and 308. Accordingly, the UE determines,based on receiving the COT indicator 336, that subbands 302, 304, and308 are valid and that subband 306 is invalid. The UE may maintain anupdated subband usage 420 indicating that the subbands 302, 304, and 308are valid.

At time T3, the UE receives a P-CSI-RS 466 in the subband 302, aP-CSI-RS 468 in the subband 304, and a P-CSI-RS 470 in the subband 308.The UE may determine that each of the P-CSI-RSs 466, 468, and 470 isvalid, as indicated by a checkmark shown above the respective P-CSI-RSs.The UE may process the P-CSI-RS 466 and transmit, based on the processedP-CSI-RS 466 received in the valid subband 302, a CSI report (not shown)to the BS. Additionally, the UE may process the P-CSI-RS 468 andtransmit, based on the P-CSI-RS 468 received in the valid subband 304, aCSI report (not shown) to the BS. Additionally, the UE may process theP-CSI-RS 470 and transmit, based on the P-CSI-RS 470 received in thevalid subband 308, a CSI report (not shown) to the BS.

In some examples, the UE may use subband-based factors other than thesubband usage information. For example, the UE may determine whether asubband is valid based on factors such as signal-to-noise ratio (SNR),delay spread of channel estimate, etc., with or without taking intoconsideration the subband usage information. In this example, the UE mayattempt to process each of the P-CSI-RSs and determine whether the oneor more SNRs are above a threshold. The UE may determine that thesubbands associated with an SNR above the threshold are valid and usedby the BS.

It should be understood that after time T3, the BS may transmit anotherCOT indicator indicating the BS's actual subband usage and/or one ormore subband usage indications, as discussed in the present disclosure.For example, the BS may transmit a third COT indicator after the COTindicator 366, where the third COT indicator updates the subbandconfiguration information previously indicated by the COT indicator 366.Additionally, the UE may update the bitmap 338 based on the subsequentsubband usage indications and/or the third COT indicator.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a communication method 500 for communicatingan UL communication signal based on a subband configuration for a COTaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Steps of themethod 500 can be executed by a computing device (e.g., a processor,processing circuit, and/or other suitable component) of a wirelesscommunication device or other suitable means for performing the steps.For example, a wireless communication device, such as the UE 115, mayutilize one or more components, such as a processor, a memory, a subbandindication module, a signaling module, a transceiver, a modem, and theone or more antennas, to execute the steps of method 500 (see FIG. 13).The method 500 may employ similar mechanisms as in the communicationscheme 200, the communication scheme 300, and/or the communicationscheme 400 described above with respect to FIGS. 2, 3, and/or 4,respectively. As illustrated, the method 500 includes a number ofenumerated steps, but embodiments of the method 500 may includeadditional steps before, after, and in between the enumerated steps. Insome embodiments, one or more of the enumerated steps may be omitted orperformed in a different order.

At step 502, the method 500 includes receiving, by the UE, a firstindicator indicating a subband configuration for a COT, the subbandconfiguration providing information on a plurality of subbandsassociated with a BS. The BS may transmit the first indicator to the UE,and the subband configuration for the COT may provide information on theBS's subband usage. In an example, the first indicator is a COTindicator indicating that the BS's subband usage is unknown in the COT.In this example, the UE receives the first indicator and determines thatthe BS's subband usage is unknown. In another example, the firstindicator may indicate the BS's actual usage (e.g., 336) in the COT. Inthis example, the BS may have transmitted a previous COT indicatorpreceding the first COT indicator. In this example, the UE receives thefirst COT indicator and determines that the BS's subband usage is knownand further determines the subbands used in the COT by the BS. Inanother example, the first indicator is a subband usage indicator asdiscussed in the present disclosure.

At step 504, the method 500 includes determining, by the UE, to transmitan UL communication signal in a subband of the plurality of subbands. Atstep 506, the method 500 includes determining, based on at least one ofthe first indicator or a set of subband usage indicators, whether thesubband is valid. In an example, if the UE determines that the BS'ssubband usage is unknown, the UE may determine that the subband isinvalid. In another example, the UE may determine that a subband isvalid if the UE has received a COT indicator indicating usage of thesubband by the BS and/or if the UE receives the COT indicator, PDCCH,PDSCH, is scheduled with an UL transmission in the subband, or anycombination of these. In another example, the first COT indicator mayindicate a set of zero or more valid subbands (e.g., subbands in whichthe BS was able to acquire a COT) and/or a set of zero or more invalidsubbands (e.g., subbands in which the BS was unable to acquire a COT).

If the subband is not valid (or invalid), process flow may proceed tostep 510, in which the UE performs a category 4 LBT in the subband. Ifthe subband is valid, process flow proceeds to step 512, in which the UEperforms a category 2 LBT in the subband.

At step 514, the method 500 includes determining whether the respectiveLBT results in an LBT pass. If the respective LBT does not result in anLBT pass, process flow may proceed back to step 512, in which the UEperforms another category 2 LBT in the subband. If the respective LBTresults in an LBT pass, process flow may proceed back to step 516, inwhich the UE transmits the UL communication signal in the subband to theBS. For example, the UE may transmit PUCCH or PUSCH based on the LBTpass. The BS may receive the UL communication signal.

At step 518, the method 500 includes receiving, by the UE, a secondindicator indicating an update to the subband configuration for the COT.The BS may transmit the second indicator.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a communication method 600 for monitoringPDCCH based on a subband configuration for a COT according to someembodiments of the present disclosure. Steps of the method 600 can beexecuted by a computing device (e.g., a processor, processing circuit,and/or other suitable component) of a wireless communication device orother suitable means for performing the steps. For example, a wirelesscommunication device, such as the UE 115, may utilize one or morecomponents, such as a processor, a memory, a subband indication module,a signaling module, a transceiver, a modem, and the one or moreantennas, to execute the steps of method 600 (see FIG. 13). The method600 may employ similar mechanisms as in the communication scheme 200,the communication scheme 300, and/or the communication scheme 400described above with respect to FIGS. 2, 3, and/or 4, respectively. Asillustrated, the method 600 includes a number of enumerated steps, butembodiments of the method 600 may include additional steps before,after, and in between the enumerated steps. In some embodiments, one ormore of the enumerated steps may be omitted or performed in a differentorder.

The method 600 includes step 502, which was discussed in relation toFIG. 5. At step 604, the method 600 includes determining, based on thefirst indicator, whether the BS's subband usage is known. If the BS'ssubband usage is unknown, process flow may proceed to step 606, in whichthe UE monitors PDCCH based on a first search space group with a firstmonitoring pattern. In an example, the first search space group includesthe plurality of subbands and the first monitoring pattern includesmonitoring PDCCH at intervals of about 2 symbols or about 3 symbols. TheBS may configure the UE to monitor PDCCH based on the first search spacegroup. After step 606, process flow may proceed to step 612, in whichthe UE receives the second indicator indicating an update to the subbandconfiguration for the COT.

If the BS's subband usage is known, process flow may proceed to step608, in which the UE determines a set of valid subbands of the pluralityof subbands. At step 610, the method 600 includes monitoring, by the UE,PDCCH based on a second search space group with a slower frequencymonitoring pattern than the first monitoring pattern. In an example, thesecond search space group may include the valid subbands (e.g., subbandsthat have been indicated as being valid based on receiving PDCCH, PDSCH,and/or a scheduled UL transmission in the subbands or based on receivingan accurate subband usage from the BS via transmission of a second COTindicator), and the UE monitors the PDCCH one per slot based on theslower frequency monitoring pattern. The BS may configure the UE tomonitor PDCCH based on the second search space group with a slowerfrequency monitoring pattern than the first monitoring pattern.

At step 612, the method 600 includes receiving, by the UE, a secondindicator indicating an update to the subband configuration for the COT.The BS may transmit the second indicator.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a communication method 700 for processing aP-CSI-RS based on a subband configuration for a COT according to someembodiments of the present disclosure. Steps of the method 700 can beexecuted by a computing device (e.g., a processor, processing circuit,and/or other suitable component) of a wireless communication device orother suitable means for performing the steps. For example, a wirelesscommunication device, such as the UE 115, may utilize one or morecomponents, such as a processor, a memory, a subband indication module,a signaling module, a transceiver, a modem, and the one or moreantennas, to execute the steps of method 700 (see FIG. 13). The method700 may employ similar mechanisms as in the communication scheme 200,the communication scheme 300, and/or the communication scheme 400described above with respect to FIGS. 2, 3, and/or 4, respectively. Asillustrated, the method 700 includes a number of enumerated steps, butembodiments of the method 700 may include additional steps before,after, and in between the enumerated steps. In some embodiments, one ormore of the enumerated steps may be omitted or performed in a differentorder.

The method 700 includes step 502, which was discussed in relation toFIG. 5. At step 704, the method 700 includes detecting, by the UE, aP-CSI-RS in a subband of the plurality of subbands. The BS may transmitthe P-CSI-RS to the UE in the subband. At step 706, the method 700includes determining, based on at least one of the first indicator or aset of subband usage indicators, whether the subband is valid.

If the subband is not valid (or invalid), process flow may proceed tostep 710, in which the UE skips processing of the P-CSI-RS. In anexample, the UE ignores the P-CSI-RS and does not process it. In thisexample, the UE determines to not transmit a CSI report in the invalidsubband and accordingly does not do so. After step 710, process flow mayproceed to step 716, in which the UE receives a second indicatorindicating an update to the subband configuration for the COT.

If the subband is valid, process flow may proceed to step 712, in whichthe UE processes the P-CSI-RS. At step 714, the method 700 includestransmitting, by the UE to the BS, a CSI report based on the P-CSI-RS.The BS may receive the CSI report from the UE. At step 716, the method700 includes receiving, by the UE, a second indicator indicating anupdate to the subband configuration for the COT. The BS may transmit thesecond indicator. The update for the subband configuration for the COTmay provide updated information on the BS's subband usage. In anexample, the second indicator may be a COT indicator that updates thesubband configuration information indicated by the first COT indicator.In another example, the second indicator is a subband usage indicator asdiscussed in the present disclosure.

In some examples, the BS transmits a COT indicator indicating a durationof a COT. A COT indicator that indicates the remaining COT duration mayalso be referred to as a COT duration indicator. If the COT has a longduration, the number of bits used to indicate the long COT duration maybe large. The present disclosure provides a compromise betweenindicating a long COT duration versus granularity of the indication. Insome examples, the BS provides an “incremental” indication of the COTduration.

The UE may use any suitable combination of the methods 500, 600, 700 todetermine whether to switch between category 2 LBT and category 4 LBT,to report P-CSI-RS, or to switch PDCCH monitoring configurations.

FIG. 8 illustrates a communication scheme 800 for indicating a durationof a COT according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Thecommunication scheme 800 may be employed by UEs such as the UEs 115and/or BSs such as BSs 105 in a network such as the network 100. In FIG.8, the x-axis represents time in some constant units.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 8, the subcarrier spacing may occurwith 15 kHz, N_(max) is 64 symbols, and 6 bits are used to represent 64.Additionally, one slot is 14 symbols, and the COT duration is 112symbols or 8 ms. Before Time T0, the BS may perform an LBT 802 in asubband. As indicated by a checkmark in the LBT 802, the LBT 802 resultsin an LBT pass and the BS reserves a COT 804 in the subband. At Time T0,the BS transmits a COT indicator 806 indicating a remaining duration Xof the COT 804 and a Longer-than-X flag. The BS may also transmit DLdata 808 and DL data 810 based on the LBT pass.

The duration of the COT 804 may be indicated in a number of symbols, inms, in slots, or any other format (e.g. X symbols, X ms, X slots, etc.).In some examples, the COT indicator may indicate X symbols as theremaining COT duration. In an example, Nm represents the maximum COTduration (e.g., in symbols) representable with the available number ofbits. The COT indicator may also include a “Longer-than-X” flag toindicate whether the X symbols indicated is the full remaining COTduration or a lower bound for the full remaining COT duration. If theLonger-than-X flag is set to zero in a COT indicator, the COT indicatorindicates the full remaining COT duration. If the Longer-than-X flag isset to one in a COT indicator, the COT indicator does not indicate thefull remaining COT duration either because representing it requires morebits than are available to do so the X symbols indicated is the fullremaining COT duration or a lower bound for the full remaining COTduration.

The COT indicator 806 may include the following for COT 804: {X=56symbols, Longer-than-X=1} or {X=4 ms, Longer-than-X=1}, which indicatesthat 56 is the number of symbols (or 4 ms is) remaining in the COTduration. If the COT indicator 816 indicates that the Longer-than-X flagis set to one, the actual COT duration is greater than the X number ofsymbols (or slots) indicated in the COT indicator (e.g., 56 symbols or 4slots). In this example, the BS may provide an incremental indication ofthe COT duration. If the COT indicator 816 indicates that theLonger-than-X flag is set to zero, X does not include indication of theremaining COT duration. The COT indicator 806 indicates that theLonger-than-X flag is set to one, which indicates that the actualremaining COT duration is greater than the indicated 56 symbols or 4 ms.

In some examples, the UE may transmit an UL communication signal basedon the indicated COT duration. The UE may determine, based on the COTindicator 806, whether the UE is able to transmit the UL communicationsignal before the end of the COT 804. In an example, if theLonger-than-X flag is set to one, the UE may determine that it cantransmit the UL communication signal before the end of the COT 804. Inthis example, the UE may perform a category 2 LBT and transmit the ULcommunication signal if the category 2 LBT results in an LBT pass. Inanother example, if the Longer-than-X flag is set to zero, the UEdetermines whether it can transmit the UL communication signal beforethe end of the indicated COT duration. In response to a determinationthat the UE can transmit the UL communication signal before the end ofthe indicated COT duration, the UE perform a category 2 LBT and transmitthe UL communication signal if the category 2 LBT results in an LBTpass. In response to a determination that the UE cannot transmit the ULcommunication signal before the end of the indicated COT duration, theUE perform a category 4 LBT and transmit the UL communication signal ifthe category 4 LBT results in an LBT pass. The BS may receive the ULcommunication signal from the UE.

If the Longer-than-X flag is set to one, the UE may expect another COTindicator before the next X symbols. In some examples, the UE mayreceive a DL transmission based on the indicated COT durationindication. In an example, if the UE determines that the Longer-than-Xflag is set to zero, the UE may monitor the PDCCH past the indicated COTduration. In another example, if the UE determines that theLonger-than-X flag is set to zero, the UE may continue to monitor thePDCCH for not longer than the indicated COT duration. The UE maycontinue to use a first search space group with a more frequentmonitoring pattern (e.g., at intervals of about 2 symbols or about 3symbols) if the UE determines that it is not within the COT 804 and mayswitch to a second search space group with a slower frequent monitoringpattern upon a detection that the UE is within the COT 804.

If the UE does not receive another COT indicator before X, the UE maydetermine that the COT has ended. At Time T1, which is subsequent totime T0, and the BS transmits a COT indicator 816 indicating the COTduration and the Longer-than-X flag. The COT indicator 816 may includethe following for the COT 804: {X=56 symbols, Longer-than-X=1} or {X=4ms, Longer-than-X=1}. The BS may also transmit DL data 818. The COTindicator 816 indicates that the Longer-than-X flag is set to one, whichindicates that the actual remaining COT duration is greater than theindicated 56 symbols or 4 ms.

At Time T2, the BS transmits a COT indicator 826 indicating the COTduration and the Longer-than-X flag. The COT indicator 826 may includethe following: {X=28 symbols, Longer-than-X=0} or {X=2 ms,Longer-than-X=0}. The BS may also transmit DL data 828 and DL data 830.The COT indicator 816 indicates that the Longer-than-X flag is set tozero, which indicates that X is an accurate number of symbols or slotsremaining in the COT. In this example, the remaining COT duration is 28symbols or 2 ms. In an example, if the UE determines that theLonger-than-X flag is set to zero and was set to one in the previous COTindicator, the UE may shorten the length of time that the UE monitorsfor PDCCH.

Accordingly, in some examples, X is the number of symbols indicated bythe duration bits. If the Longer-than-X flag is set, the actual COTduration is >X. Conversely, if the Longer-than-X flag is cleared, theCOT duration=X.

In some examples, the COT indicator may indicate X in symbols ormultiples of symbols. In an example with a multiple of two symbols, theX symbols indicated by the COT indicator may indicate 2X symbols and theLonger-than-X flag may mean Longer-than-2X symbols.

FIG. 9 illustrates a communication scheme 900 for indicating a durationof a COT according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Thescheme 900 may use a lookup table 900 that is employed by UEs such asthe UEs 115 and/or BSs such as BSs 105 in a network such as the network100. Additionally, the lookup table 900 may be specification defined orRRC configured (e.g., the number of entries in the lookup table, bitcombination, and/or mapping values for remaining COT duration). Thelookup table 900 provides four bits for a bit combination for indicatinga COT duration. In this example, it may be unnecessary to include aLonger-than-X flag as discussed in relation to FIG. 8.

A binary number with six bits may represent numbers between 0 and 57. Inthe lookup table 900, the bits indicating the remaining COT duration maybe coded together with the Longer-than-X flag. For the first and secondentries of the lookup table 900, the translations are more granular andthe granularity increases. As shown in the first entry of the lookuptable 900, bits representing the decimal numbers 0-6 may indicate 1-7symbols for a COT duration, respectively (e.g., the “0000” indicates aCOT duration of 1 symbol, “0001” indicates a COT duration of 2 symbols,“0010” indicates a COT duration of 3 symbols, “0011” indicates a COTduration of 4 symbols, “0100” indicates a COT duration of 5 symbols,“0101” indicates a COT duration of 6 symbols, and “0110” indicates a COTduration of 7 symbols. As shown in the second entry of the lookup table900, bits representing the decimal number 7 indicate a COT duration of 8symbols, bits representing the decimal number 8 indicate a COT durationof 10 symbols, bits representing the decimal number 9 indicate a COTduration of 12 symbols, and bits representing the decimal number 10indicate a COT duration of 14 symbols. The lookup table 900 may benon-linear in terms of the bit combinations that indicate symbols, asshown in this second entry.

Additionally, bits representing the decimal number 11 indicate a COTduration that is greater than one slot, bits representing the decimalnumber 12 indicate a COT duration that is greater than two slots, bitsrepresenting the decimal number 13 indicate a COT duration that isgreater than three slots, bits representing the decimal number 14indicate a COT duration that is greater than four slots, and bitsrepresenting the decimal number 15 indicate a COT duration that isgreater than five slots. In general, the remaining COT duration can beindicated using a linear time step-size or a non-linear time step-size.

FIG. 10 illustrates a communication scheme 1000 for indicating aduration of a COT according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The communication scheme 1000 may be employed by UEs such asthe UEs 115 and/or BSs such as BSs 105 in a network such as the network100. In FIG. 10, the x-axis represents time in some constant units.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 10, the subcarrier spacing may occurwith 15 kHz Additionally, one slot is 14 symbols, and the COT durationis 112 symbols or 8 ms. Before Time T0, the BS may perform an LBT 1002in a subband. As indicated by a checkmark in the LBT 1002, the LBT 1002results in an LBT pass and the BS reserves a COT 1004 in the subband. AtTime T0, the BS transmits a COT indicator 1006 indicating a duration ofthe COT 1004. The BS may also transmit DL data 1008 and DL data 1010based on the LBT pass.

The duration of the COT 1004 may be indicated in a number of symbols, inT ms, or any other format. In some examples, the COT indicator mayindicate X symbols using the entries in the lookup table 900. Forexample, the remaining COT duration is 112 symbols, 8 ms, or 8 slots. Inthe lookup table 900, the binary number “1111” represents “15” indecimal form and maps to a COT duration of greater than 5 slots. The COTindicator 1006 may include the following for COT 1004: {X=1111}, whichindicates that the COT duration is greater than 5 slots. Accordingly,the UE determines that the remaining COT duration for COT 1004 isgreater than 5 slots.

In some examples, the UE may transmit an UL communication signal basedon the indicated COT duration. The UE may determine, based on the COTindicator 1006, whether the UE is able to transmit the UL communicationsignal before the end of the COT 1004. In an example, if theLonger-than-X flag is set to one, the UE may determine that it cantransmit the UL communication signal before the end of the COT 1004. Inthis example, the UE may perform a category 2 LBT and transmit the ULcommunication signal if the category 2 LBT results in an LBT pass. Inanother example, if the Longer-than-X flag is set to zero, the UEdetermines whether it can transmit the UL communication signal beforethe end of the indicated COT duration. In response to a determinationthat the UE can transmit the UL communication signal before the end ofthe indicated COT duration, the UE perform a category 2 LBT and transmitthe UL communication signal if the category 2 LBT results in an LBTpass. In response to a determination that the UE cannot transmit the ULcommunication signal before the end of the indicated COT duration, theUE performs a category 4 LBT and transmits the UL communication signalif the category 4 LBT results in an LBT pass. The BS may receive the ULcommunication signal from the UE.

In some examples, the UE may receive a DL transmission based on theindicated COT duration indication. The UE may continue to use a firstsearch space group with a more frequent monitoring pattern (e.g., atintervals of about 2 symbols or about 3 symbols) if the UE determinesthat it is not within the COT 1004 and may switch to a second searchspace group with a slower frequent monitoring pattern upon a detectionthat the UE is within the COT 1004.

At Time T1, which is subsequent to time T0, the COT duration is 6 ms or84 symbols. The BS transmits a COT indicator 1016 including thefollowing for COT 1004: {X=1111}, which indicates that the COT durationis greater than 5 slots. The BS may also transmit DL data 1018. Inresponse to a determination that the UE may transmit an UL communicationsignal within the COT 1004, the UE may perform category 2 LBTs beforethe UL transmissions. In response to a determination that the UE may nottransmit an UL communication signal within the COT 1004 (will transmitoutside the COT 1004), the UE may perform category 4 LBTs before the ULtransmissions. Additionally, in response to a determination that the UEis not within the COT (outside of the COT duration), the UE may use afirst search space group with a more frequent monitoring pattern (e.g.,at intervals of about 2 symbols or about 3 symbols). In response to adetermination that the UE may is within the COT, the UE may switch to asecond search space group with a less frequent monitoring pattern upon adetection that the UE is within the COT.

At Time T2, which is subsequent to time T1, the COT duration is 3 ms or42 symbols. The BS transmits a COT indicator 1026 including thefollowing for COT 1004: {X=1100}, which indicates that the COT durationis greater than 2 slots. The UE may perform category 2 LBT or category 4LBT in the subband based on whether the UE determines that the UE iswithin the COT, indicated by the COT duration. Additionally, the UE mayperform faster or slower PDCCH monitoring based on whether the UEdetermines that the UE is within the COT, indicated by the COT duration.

The specified bit combinations may be used to indicate the correspondingremaining COT durations. The UE may expect the next COT indicator beforethe minimum duration that is indicated. In relation to FIGS. 8-11, ifthe UE does not receive a COT indicator before the indicated remainingCOT duration, the UE may determine that it is outside the COT reservedby the BS (e.g., the COT reserved by the BS has ended) and accordinglydetermine to not transmit PUCCH and/or PUSCH. Further, in relation toFIGS. 8-11, if the UE does not receive a COT indicator before theindicated remaining COT duration, the UE may determine that it isoutside the COT reserved by the BS (e.g., the COT reserved by the BS hasended) and accordingly does not receive or process any P-CSI-RSs in theplurality of subbands. Furthermore, in relation to FIGS. 8-11, if the UEdoes not receive a COT indicator before the indicated remaining COTduration, the UE may continue to monitor PDCCH on all subbands after theindicated remaining COT duration. The UE may assume that it is insidethe COT monitoring configuration until a timer expiry. The timer valuemay be set via RRC signaling. After the timer expiry, the UE may startmonitoring the PDCCH as if outside the COT reserved by the BS.

As discussed above, as soon as the BS passes the LBT in a subband, theBS may start DL transmissions. Before the LBT passes, the BS may encodea scheduling grant (e.g., a DL or an UL scheduling grant) and startpreparing a DL data packet for transmission in the subband. The BS mayprepare the payload for transmitting the COT indicator before the LBTpasses in the subband. Accordingly, by the time the BS transmits the COTindicator, the COT indicator may not be an accurate depiction of theremaining COT duration. For example, if the BS starts and/or passes theLBT earlier in the COT, the BS may have a longer COT duration. Inanother example, if the BS passes the LBT later into the COT, the BS maywant to pause or end the COT earlier for various reasons (e.g., anupcoming RACH occasion, a start of a discovery reference signal (DRS)measurement timing configuration (DMTC) window, etc.). In this example,the BS may want to adapt the COT duration by changing it.

The BS may be unable to change a COT duration in a payload of the COTindicator because it has already been prepared and after LBT pass, theBS may not have enough time to change the payload. In some examples, theBS pre-prepares a COT indicator with a tentative small COT duration,with a small value for X symbols (e.g., X=10 symbols and Longer-than-Xflag is set to one). The BS may transmit a next COT indicator indicatingthe exact remaining duration (if within the possible bits). The BS mayincrease the total COT duration in a next COT indicator, but may notdecrease the total COT duration (e.g., an end of the COT can be extendedbut not be reduced in a following COT indicator). The UE may receive thetotal COT duration, which was decreased in the next COT indicator.

In some examples, the BS determines to adapt the duration of the COT.When the BS wants to adapt the COT duration, the BS may provide atentative lower bound for the COT duration (not an exact value) in thefirst indicator, and then later provides the exact COT duration. In anexample, the first indicator may indicate a first value representing atotal duration of the COT, the second indicator may indicate a secondvalue representing the total duration of the COT, and the first value isless than the second value. In another example, the first indicator mayindicate a first value representing a lower bound for the total durationof the COT, the second indicator may indicate a second valuerepresenting the total duration of the COT, and the first value is lessthan the second value.

In some examples, the BS controls whether the UE performs category 4 LBTor category 2 LBT in a subband and/or switches from one LBT mode to theother LBT mode. The BS is unware of when an LBT will pass in a subband,and accordingly may not know whether to instruct the UE to performcategory 4 LBT or category 2 LBT in the subband. To compensate for thislack of knowledge of the LBT pass, the BS may adapt this information anduse it in the next COT indicators associated with RACH, CG-UL, and/orscheduled PUCCH/PUSCH.

Typically, RACH and CG-UL are RRC configured. The UE does not receive anexplicit grant to transmit RACH or CG-UL and thus the UE typicallyperforms category 4 LBT for RACH and CG-UL transmissions. In oneexample, the BS may maintain a RACH flag to indicate whether to allow aswitch from the category 4 LBT to the category 2 LBT for RACH when theBS acquires a COT with a duration including the RACH occasion. Forexample, the RACH flag may indicate whether to allow category 4 LBT orcategory 2 LBT for an indicated COT duration. In this example, thedetermination of whether to instruct the UE to perform the category 4LBT or category 2 LBT may be based on the subband usage indicationand/or COT duration. In one example, the BS may maintain a CG-UL flag toindicate whether to allow a switch from the category 4 LBT to thecategory 2 LBT for CG-UL. For example, the CG-UL flag may indicatewhether to allow category 4 LBT or category 2 LBT for the indicated COTduration. In this example, the determination of whether to instruct theUE to perform the category 4 LBT or category 2 LBT may be based on theCOT duration indicated in the COT indicator.

A scheduled UL transmission may be from a previous COT or the currentCOT. The BS may acquire a COT and during the COT, the BS may schedule anUL transmission (e.g., PUSCH and/or PUCCH) in a period outside of theCOT. Thus, the BS may indicate a category 4 LBT for the scheduled ULtransmission. However, the BS may subsequently acquire another COT witha duration including the UL transmission period scheduled from theearlier COT. In one example, the BS may maintain a scheduled-UL flag toindicate whether to allow a switch from the category 4 LBT to thecategory 2 LBT for PUSCH/PUCCH scheduled from an earlier COT. Forexample, the scheduled-UL flag may indicate whether to allow category 4LBT or category 2 LBT for the subband that is scheduled for the ULtransmission. In this example, the determination of whether to instructthe UE to perform the category 4 LBT or category 2 LBT may be based onthe COT duration indicated in the COT indicator.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of a communication method 1100 fortransmitting an UL communication signal based on a duration of a COTaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Steps of themethod 1100 can be executed by a computing device (e.g., a processor,processing circuit, and/or other suitable component) of a wirelesscommunication device or other suitable means for performing the steps.For example, a wireless communication device, such as the UE 115, mayutilize one or more components, such as a processor, a memory, a subbandindication module, a signaling module, a transceiver, a modem, and theone or more antennas, to execute the steps of method 1100 (see FIG. 13).The method 1100 may employ similar mechanisms as in the communicationscheme 800, the communication scheme 900, and/or the communicationscheme 1000 described above with respect to FIGS. 8, 9, and/or 10,respectively. As illustrated, the method 1100 includes a number ofenumerated steps, but embodiments of the method 1100 may includeadditional steps before, after, and in between the enumerated steps. Insome embodiments, one or more of the enumerated steps may be omitted orperformed in a different order.

At step 1102, the method 1100 includes receiving, by the UE, a firstindicator indicating a duration of a COT in a subband. At step 1104, themethod 1100 includes determining, by the UE, to transmit an ULcommunication signal in the subband. At step 1106, the method 1100includes determining, based on at least one of the first indicator or aset of subband usage indicators, whether the UL communication signal canbe transmitted within the COT. At step 1107, the method 1100 includesdetermining whether the UE has received an indication that a BS hasacquired the COT. If the UE has not received an indication that the BShas acquired the COT, process flow may proceed from step 1107 to step1108, in which the UE performs a category 4 LBT in a subband. If the UEhas received an indication that the BS has acquired the COT, processflow proceeds from step 1107 to step 1110, in which the UE performs acategory 2 LBT in the subband.

At step 1112, the method 1100 includes determining whether therespective LBT results in an LBT pass. If the respective LBT does notresult in an LBT pass, process flow may proceed back to step 1110, inwhich the UE performs another category 2 LBT in the subband. If therespective LBT results in an LBT pass, process flow may proceed back tostep 1116, in which the UE transmits the UL communication signal in thesubband to the BS. For example, the UE may transmit PUCCH or PUSCH basedon the LBT pass. At step 1118, the method 1100 includes receiving, bythe UE, a second indicator indicating an update to the duration of theCOT.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an exemplary BS 1200 according to someembodiments of the present disclosure. The BS 1200 may be a BS 105 asdiscussed above. As shown, the BS 1200 may include a processor 1202, amemory 1204, a subband indication module 1208, a signaling module 1209,a transceiver 1210 including a modem subsystem 1212 and a radiofrequency (RF) unit 1214, and one or more antennas 1216. These elementsmay be in direct or indirect communication with each other, for examplevia one or more buses.

The processor 1202 may have various features as a specific-typeprocessor. For example, these may include a central processing unit(CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a controller, a field programmable gate array(FPGA) device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or anycombination thereof configured to perform the operations describedherein. The processor 1202 may also be implemented as a combination ofcomputing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, aplurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunctionwith a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

The memory 1204 may include a cache memory (e.g., a cache memory of theprocessor 1002), random access memory (RAM), magnetoresistive RAM(MRAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM),erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasableprogrammable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, a solid statememory device, one or more hard disk drives, memristor-based arrays,other forms of volatile and non-volatile memory, or a combination ofdifferent types of memory. In some embodiments, the memory 1204 includesa non-transitory computer-readable medium. The memory 1204 may storeinstructions 1206. The instructions 1206 may include instructions that,when executed by the processor 1202, cause the processor 1202 to performthe operations described herein with reference to the BSs 105 inconnection with embodiments of the present disclosure. Instructions 1206may also be referred to as code. The terms “instructions” and “code”should be interpreted broadly to include any type of computer-readablestatement(s). For example, the terms “instructions” and “code” may referto one or more programs, routines, sub-routines, functions, procedures,etc. “Instructions” and “code” may include a single computer-readablestatement or many computer-readable statements.

The subband indication module 1208 and/or the signaling module 1209 maybe implemented via hardware, software, or combinations thereof. Forexample, the subband indication module 1208 and/or the signaling module1209 may be implemented as a processor, circuit, and/or instructions1206 stored in the memory 1204 and executed by the processor 1202. Thesubband indication module 1208 and/or the signaling module 1209 may beused for various aspects of the present disclosure.

In some examples, the subband indication module 1208 may be configuredto communicate with a UE, a first indicator indicating at least one of asubband configuration for a channel occupancy time or a duration of theCOT. The signaling module 1209 may be configured to communicate with theUE during the COT, a first communication signal based on the at leastone of the subband configuration for the COT or the duration of the COT.The subband indication module 1208 may be configured to communicate withthe UE during the COT, a second indicator indicating an update for theat least one of the subband configuration for the COT or the duration ofthe COT. The signaling module 1209 may be configured to communicate withthe UE during the COT, a second communication signal based on theupdate.

As shown, the transceiver 1210 may include the modem subsystem 1212 andthe RF unit 1214. The transceiver 1210 can be configured to communicatebi-directionally with other devices, such as the UEs 115 or other BSs105. The modem subsystem 1212 may be configured to modulate and/orencode the data from the memory 1204, the subband indication module1208, and/or the signaling module 1209 according to a Modulation CodingScheme (MCS), e.g., a low-density parity check (LDPC) coding scheme, aturbo coding scheme, a convolutional coding scheme, a digitalbeamforming scheme, etc. The RF unit 1214 may be configured to process(e.g., perform analog to digital conversion or digital to analogconversion, etc.) modulated/encoded data from the modem subsystem 1212(on outbound transmissions) or of transmissions originating from anothersource such as a UE 115 or BS 105. The RF unit 1214 may be furtherconfigured to perform analog beamforming in conjunction with the digitalbeamforming. Although shown as integrated together in transceiver 1210,the modem subsystem 1212 and the RF unit 1214 may be separate devicesthat are coupled together at the BS 105 or 1200 to enable the BS 105 or1200 to communicate with other devices.

The RF unit 1214 may provide the modulated and/or processed data, e.g.data packets (or, more generally, data messages that may contain one ormore data packets and other information), to the antennas 1216 fortransmission to one or more other devices. The antennas 1216 may furtherreceive data messages transmitted from other devices and provide thereceived data messages for processing and/or demodulation at thetransceiver 1210. The antennas 1216 may include multiple antennas ofsimilar or different designs in order to sustain multiple transmissionlinks.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an exemplary UE 1300 according to someembodiments of the present disclosure. The UE 1300 may be a UE 115 asdiscussed above. As shown, the UE 1300 may include a processor 1302, amemory 1304, a subband indication module 1308, a signaling module 1309,a transceiver 1310 including a modem subsystem 1312 and an RF unit 1314,and one or more antennas 1316. These elements may be in direct orindirect communication with each other, for example, via one or morebuses.

The processor 1302 may include a CPU, a DSP, an ASIC, a controller, aFPGA device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or anycombination thereof configured to perform the operations describedherein. The processor 1302 may also be implemented as a combination ofcomputing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, aplurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunctionwith a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

The memory 1304 may include a cache memory (e.g., a cache memory of theprocessor 1302), RAM, MRAM, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory,solid state memory device, hard disk drives, memristor-based arrays,other forms of volatile and non-volatile memory, or a combination ofdifferent types of memory. In some embodiments, the memory 1304 includesa non-transitory computer-readable medium. The memory 1304 may storeinstructions 1306. The instructions 1306 may include instructions that,when executed by the processor 1302, cause the processor 1302 to performoperations described herein with reference to the UEs 115 in connectionwith embodiments of the present disclosure. Instructions 1306 may alsobe referred to as code, which may be interpreted broadly to include anytype of computer-readable statement(s) as discussed above with respectto FIG. 12.

The subband indication module 1308 and/or the signaling module 1309 maybe implemented via hardware, software, or combinations thereof. Forexample, the subband indication module 1308 and/or the signaling module1309 may be implemented as a processor, circuit, and/or instructions1306 stored in the memory 1304 and executed by the processor 1302. Thesubband indication module 1308 and/or the signaling module 1309 may beused for various aspects of the present disclosure.

In some examples, the subband indication module 1309 may be configuredto communicate with a BS, a first indicator indicating at least one of asubband configuration for a channel occupancy time or a duration of theCOT. The signaling module 1309 may be configured to communicate with theBS during the COT, a first communication signal based on the at leastone of the subband configuration for the COT or the duration of the COT.The subband indication module 1309 may be configured to communicate withthe BS during the COT, a second indicator indicating an update for theat least one of the subband configuration for the COT or the duration ofthe COT. The signaling module 1309 may be configured to communicate withthe BS during the COT, a second communication signal based on theupdate.

As shown, the transceiver 1310 may include the modem subsystem 1312 andthe RF unit 1314. The transceiver 1310 can be configured to communicatebi-directionally with other devices, such as the UEs 115 and/or anotherelement in the network. The modem subsystem 1312 may be configured tomodulate and/or encode data according to a MCS, e.g., a LDPC codingscheme, a turbo coding scheme, a convolutional coding scheme, a digitalbeamforming scheme, etc. The RF unit 1314 may be configured to process(e.g., perform analog to digital conversion or digital to analogconversion, etc.) modulated/encoded data from the modem subsystem 1312(on outbound transmissions) or of transmissions originating from anothersource such as a UE 115 or BS 105. The RF unit 1314 may be furtherconfigured to perform analog beamforming in conjunction with the digitalbeamforming. Although shown as integrated together in transceiver 1310,the modem subsystem 1312 and the RF unit 1314 may be separate devicesthat are coupled together at the UE 115 or 1300 to enable the UE 115 or1300 to communicate with other devices.

The RF unit 1314 may provide the modulated and/or processed data, e.g.data packets (or, more generally, data messages that may contain one ormore data packets and other information), to the antennas 1316 fortransmission to one or more other devices. The antennas 1316 may furtherreceive data messages transmitted from other devices. The antennas 1316may provide the received data messages for processing and/ordemodulation at the transceiver 1310. The antennas 1316 may includemultiple antennas of similar or different designs in order to sustainmultiple transmission links. The RF unit 1314 may configure the antennas1316.

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram of a communication method 1400 according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure. Steps of the method 1400 canbe executed by a computing device (e.g., a processor, processingcircuit, and/or other suitable component) of a wireless communicationdevice or other suitable means for performing the steps. For example, awireless communication device, such as the UE 115 and/or UE 1300, mayutilize one or more components, such as the processor 1302, the memory1304, the subband indication module 1308, the signaling module 1309, thetransceiver 1310, the modem 1312, and the one or more antennas 1316, toexecute the steps of method 1400. In another example, a wirelesscommunication device, such as the BS 105 and/or BS 1200, may utilize oneor more components, such as the processor 1202, the memory 1204, thesubband indication module 1208, the signaling module 1209, thetransceiver 1210, the modem 1212, and the one or more antennas 1216, toexecute the steps of method 1400. The method 1400 may employ similarmechanisms as in the communication scheme 200, the communication scheme300, the communication scheme 400, the communication method 500, thecommunication scheme 600, the communication method for 700, thecommunication scheme 800, the communication scheme 900, thecommunication scheme 1000, and/or the communication scheme 1100described above with respect to FIGS. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and/or11, respectively. As illustrated, the method 1400 includes a number ofenumerated steps, but embodiments of the method 1400 may includeadditional steps before, after, and in between the enumerated steps. Insome embodiments, one or more of the enumerated steps may be omitted orperformed in a different order.

At step 1410, the method 1400 includes communicating, by a firstwireless communication device with a second wireless communicationdevice, a first indicator indicating at least one of a subbandconfiguration for a COT or a duration of the COT. At step 1420, themethod 1400 includes communicating, by the first wireless communicationdevice with the second wireless communication device during the COT, afirst communication signal based on the at least one of the subbandconfiguration for the COT or the duration of the COT. At step 1430, themethod 1400 includes communicating, by the first wireless communicationdevice with the second wireless communication device during the COT, asecond indicator indicating an update for the at least one of thesubband configuration for the COT or the duration of the COT. At step1440, the method 1400 includes communicating, by the first wirelesscommunication device with the second wireless communication deviceduring the COT, a second communication signal based on the update.

Information and signals may be represented using any of a variety ofdifferent technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions,commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may bereferenced throughout the above description may be represented byvoltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles,optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

The various illustrative blocks and modules described in connection withthe disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with ageneral-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmablelogic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardwarecomponents, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functionsdescribed herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor,but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or moremicroprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration).

The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, softwareexecuted by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. Ifimplemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may bestored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are withinthe scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to thenature of software, functions described above can be implemented usingsoftware executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, orcombinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may alsobe physically located at various positions, including being distributedsuch that portions of functions are implemented at different physicallocations. Also, as used herein, including in the claims, “or” as usedin a list of items (for example, a list of items prefaced by a phrasesuch as “at least one of” or “one or more of”) indicates an inclusivelist such that, for example, a list of [at least one of A, B, or C]means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C).

As those of some skill in this art will by now appreciate and dependingon the particular application at hand, many modifications, substitutionsand variations can be made in and to the materials, apparatus,configurations and methods of use of the devices of the presentdisclosure without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. In lightof this, the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited tothat of the particular embodiments illustrated and described herein, asthey are merely by way of some examples thereof, but rather, should befully commensurate with that of the claims appended hereafter and theirfunctional equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of wireless communication, comprising:communicating, by a first wireless communication device with a secondwireless communication device, a first indicator indicating at least oneof a subband configuration for a channel occupancy time (COT) or aduration of the COT; communicating, by the first wireless communicationdevice with the second wireless communication device during the COT, afirst communication signal based on the at least one of the subbandconfiguration for the COT or the duration of the COT; communicating, bythe first wireless communication device with the second wirelesscommunication device during the COT, a second indicator indicating anupdate for the at least one of the subband configuration for the COT orthe duration of the COT; and communicating, by the first wirelesscommunication device with the second wireless communication deviceduring the COT, a second communication signal based on the update. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the first indicator indicates the subbandconfiguration for the COT, and wherein communicating the first indicatorincludes communicating a first bitmap indicating that subband usage by abase station (BS) is unknown.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein thesubband configuration is associated with a plurality of subbandsincluding a first set of subbands and a second set of subbands, andwherein communicating the second indicator includes communicating asecond bitmap indicating that the first set of subbands is valid and thesecond set of subbands is invalid.
 4. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving a downlink (DL) grant for a DL transmission in asubband; and determining that the subband is valid in response toreceiving the DL grant for the DL transmission in the subband, whereincommunicating the second indicator includes receiving the DL grant. 5.The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving an uplink (UL)grant for a UL transmission in a subband; and determining that thesubband is valid in response to receiving the UL grant for the ULtransmission in the subband, wherein communicating the second indicatorincludes receiving the UL grant.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: determining whether a subband is valid; in response to adetermination that the subband is valid, performing a category 2listen-before-talk (LBT) in the subband, wherein communicating the firstcommunication signal includes transmitting an uplink (UL) transmissionin the subband based on the category 2 LBT; and in response to adetermination that the subband is not valid, performing a category 4listen-before-talk (LBT) in the subband, wherein communicating the firstcommunication signal includes transmitting the UL transmission in thesubband based on the category 4 LBT.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereincommunicating the first indicator includes receiving the first indicatorfrom a base station (BS), the method further comprising: determiningwhether subband usage by the BS is known; monitoring PDCCH based on afirst search space group with a first monitoring pattern in response toa determination that subband usage by the BS is not known; andmonitoring PDCCH based on a second search space group with a slowerfrequency monitoring pattern than the first monitoring pattern inresponse to a determination that subband usage by the BS is known. 8.The method of claim 1, further comprising: detecting a periodic channelstate information reference signal (P-CSI-RS) in a subband from a basestation (BS); determining whether the subband is valid, whereincommunicating the first communication signal includes transmitting achannel state information (CSI) report based on the P-CSI-RS to the BSin response to a determination that the subband is valid; anddetermining to not transmit the CSI report in response to adetermination that the subband is not valid.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein the first indicator indicates a bit combination representing theduration of the COT.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein a lookup tableincludes the bit combination that maps to a number of symbols indicatingthe duration of the COT.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:determining, based on the first indicator, whether transmission of thefirst communication signal in a subband is within the COT; in responseto a determination that the transmission is within the COT, performing acategory 2 listen-before-talk (LBT) in the subband, whereincommunicating the first communication signal includes transmitting a ULtransmission in the subband based on the category 2 LBT; and in responseto a determination that the transmission is not within the COT,performing a category 4 listen-before-talk (LBT) in the subband, whereincommunicating the first communication signal includes transmitting theUL transmission in the subband based on the category 4 LBT.
 12. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: communicating a flag indicatingwhether to allow the second wireless communication device to switch froma category 4 LBT to a category 2 LBT for a random access channel (RACH)occasion in the COT, the flag being based on at least one of the subbandconfiguration for the COT or the duration of the COT.
 13. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: communicating a flag indicating whether toallow the second wireless communication device to switch from a category4 LBT to a category 2 LBT for a configured-grant UL (CG-UL) in the COT,the flag being based on at least one of the subband configuration forthe COT or the duration of the COT.
 14. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: communicating a flag indicating whether to allow the secondwireless communication device to switch from a category 4 LBT to acategory 2 LBT for a scheduled PUCCH in the COT, the scheduled PUCCHbeing scheduled for the category 4 LBT in a previous COT, and the flagbeing based on at least one of the subband configuration for the COT orthe duration of the COT.
 15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:communicating a flag indicating whether to allow the second wirelesscommunication device to switch from a category 4 LBT to a category 2 LBTfor a scheduled PUCSH in the COT, the scheduled PUCSH being scheduledfor the category 4 LBT in a previous COT, and the flag being based onthe at least one of the subband configuration for the COT or theduration of the COT.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein communicatingthe first communication signal includes: transmitting a UL transmissionin a subband based on a category 2 LBT pass in response to the firstindicator indicating that the subband is valid; and transmitting a ULtransmission in the subband based on a category 4 LBT pass in responseto the first indicator indicating that the subband is not valid.
 17. Anapparatus, comprising: a transceiver configured to: communicate, by afirst wireless communication device with a second wireless communicationdevice, a first indicator indicating at least one of a subbandconfiguration for a channel occupancy time (COT) or a duration of theCOT; communicate, by the first wireless communication device with thesecond wireless communication device during the COT, a firstcommunication signal based on the at least one of the subbandconfiguration for the COT or the duration of the COT; communicate, bythe first wireless communication device with the second wirelesscommunication device during the COT, a second indicator indicating anupdate for the at least one of the subband configuration for the COT orthe duration of the COT; and communicate, by the first wirelesscommunication device with the second wireless communication deviceduring the COT, a second communication signal based on the update. 18.The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the first indicator indicates thesubband configuration for the COT, and wherein the transceivercommunicates a first bitmap indicating that subband usage by the BS isunknown.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the subbandconfiguration is associated with a plurality of subbands including afirst set of subbands and a second set of subbands, and wherein thetransceiver communicates a second bitmap indicating that the first setof subbands is valid and the second set of subbands is invalid.
 20. Theapparatus of claim 17, wherein the transceiver is configured to receivea downlink (DL) grant for a DL transmission in a subband, the apparatusfurther comprising: a processor that is configured to determine that thesubband is valid in response to receiving the DL grant for the DLtransmission in the subband; and wherein the transceiver is configuredto receive the DL grant.
 21. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein thetransceiver is configured to receive an uplink (UL) grant for a ULtransmission in a subband, the apparatus further comprising: a processorthat is configured to determine that the subband is valid in response toreceiving the UL grant for the UL transmission in the subband; andwherein the transceiver is configured to receive the UL grant.
 22. Theapparatus of claim 17, wherein the first indicator indicates a bitcombination representing the duration of the COT.
 23. The apparatus ofclaim 22, wherein a lookup table includes the bit combination that mapsto a number of symbols indicating the duration of the COT.
 24. Theapparatus of claim 17, wherein the transceiver is configured tocommunicate a flag indicating whether to allow the second wirelesscommunication device to switch from a category 4 LBT to a category 2 LBTfor a random access channel (RACH) occasion in the COT, wherein the flagis based on at least one of the subband configuration for the COT or theduration of the COT.
 25. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein thetransceiver is configured to communicate a flag indicating whether toallow the second wireless communication device to switch from a category4 LBT to a category 2 LBT for a configured-grant UL (CG-UL) in the COT,wherein the flag is based on at least one of the subband configurationfor the COT or the duration of the COT.
 26. The apparatus of claim 17,wherein the transceiver is configured to communicate a flag indicatingwhether to allow the second wireless communication device to switch froma category 4 LBT to a category 2 LBT for a scheduled PUCCH in the COT,wherein the scheduled PUCCH is scheduled for the category 4 LBT in aprevious COT, and the flag is based on at least one of the subbandconfiguration for the COT or the duration of the COT.
 27. The apparatusof claim 17, wherein the transceiver is configured to communicate a flagindicating whether to allow the second wireless communication device toswitch from a category 4 LBT to a category 2 LBT for a scheduled PUCSHin the COT, wherein the scheduled PUCSH is scheduled for the category 4LBT in a previous COT, and the flag is based on at least one of thesubband configuration for the COT or the duration of the COT.
 28. Acomputer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, theprogram code comprising: code for causing a first wireless communicationdevice to communicate with a second wireless communication device, afirst indicator indicating at least one of a subband configuration for achannel occupancy time (COT) or a duration of the COT; code for causingthe first wireless communication device to communicate with the secondwireless communication device, a first communication signal based on theat least one of the subband configuration for the COT or the duration ofthe COT; code for causing the first wireless communication device tocommunicate with the second wireless communication device, a secondindicator indicating an update for the at least one of the subbandconfiguration for the COT or the duration of the COT; and code forcausing the first wireless communication device to communicate with thesecond wireless communication device, a second communication signalbased on the update.
 29. The computer-readable medium of claim 28,wherein a lookup table includes a bit combination that maps to a numberof symbols indicating the duration of the COT, and the first indicatorindicates the bit combination.
 30. An apparatus, comprising: means forcommunicating with a second wireless communication device, a firstindicator indicating at least one of a subband configuration for achannel occupancy time (COT) or a duration of the COT; means forcommunicating with the second wireless communication device during theCOT, a first communication signal based on the at least one of thesubband configuration for the COT or the duration of the COT; means forcommunicating with the second wireless communication device during theCOT, a second indicator indicating an update for the at least one of thesubband configuration for the COT or the duration of the COT; and meansfor communicating with the second wireless communication device duringthe COT, a second communication signal based on the update.